


Puppy Love

by LovelyMagickPegacorn



Category: Glee
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-19
Updated: 2013-09-15
Packaged: 2017-11-29 21:01:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/691391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LovelyMagickPegacorn/pseuds/LovelyMagickPegacorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rachel finds a hurt puppy at the animal shelter. She can't help but take him into her home. He instantly takes a liking to Rachel and to her friend Quinn. Now it's his mission to get his owner and her best friend together. His small size, inability to speak English, and broken hind leg might slow him down, but how hard could it be?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Reposted from FF.net
> 
> Will slowly post already finished chapters while I work on new ones.

He was in the animal shelter when Rachel first found him; a tiny golden puppy with a broken hind leg. He was found a week prior to Rachel's arrival and had been very hesitant to receive any food. One look in his eyes could show how terrified of people he was. Rachel was currently sitting cross-legged at his cage, halfway through volunteering this day.

She had been informed about the little dog and was very worried about his well-being. Rachel tried to put him at ease and did what she did best. She sang, quietly, so as to not cause a ruckus. He seemed to ease up a bit and slowly approached the gate to his cage with his three good legs.

Rachel stopped abruptly at the sudden and unexpected movement. She opened the cage and gently pet the tiny puppy. He nuzzled into her hand and barked appreciatively, the first hopeful sound that she'd heard from him since she got there. He eased out of the cage while Rachel got the bowl of food that she had prepared for him. The golden puppy eyed it hesitantly before looking up at soft, concerned brown eyes.

Seeing an image which could easily be trusted, the puppy quickly dug into his meal, filling his empty belly. "Good puppy," she said, rubbing his back before leaving him to his meal. Rachel went on to assist the other poor animal while keeping a close eye on the tiny Golden Retriever. She felt as attached to him in the short time that she'd known him; she wanted to make sure he was okay and ate his fill.

He looked so vulnerable, it kind of reminded Rachel of someone. Thoughts of that certain someone caused Rachel to take another look at the tiny puppy. The golden fur was another feature that gave Rachel fond memories. She smiled absentmindedly, dropping her work, and approaching the dog that had just finished his meal.

Carefully she placed her hands on the puppy's sides, waiting to see his reaction. When he didn't try to escape her grasp, she lifted him up and hugged him close to her chest, making sure to take extra care with his injured hind leg. "Good boy," she cooed, placing a kiss on the top of his head. "You nice and full?" She rubbed his belly, earning some happy barks.

She loved him already and so the following day she came back, with her dads (they wanted to get a look at the puppy before adopting), and brought the small Golden Retriever home. She was sat in the back, running her hand through her new pet's golden fur that was sat comfortably on her lap. Her dads were in the front idly chatting about something that she didn't pay much attention to. Rachel never had a pet before, so she was extremely excited about having one, especially having such a cute puppy as one.

Once they got home, Rachel noticed that something was odd when she saw Quinn sitting on her front porch. It suddenly dawned on her that they had a project to work on. She darted out of the car, puppy in hand (or arms), and rushed towards the blonde.

"Quinn, I am so sorry," she apologized. "I completely forgot, but you shouldn't have stayed out her," Rachel chastised once she realized how cold it was. "I've already told you where the spare key is hidden." Quinn merely shook her head at Rachel's diva-esque tendencies. Quinn had used the key, but once inside, found it uncomfortable to be inside the Berry household without Rachel present. But right now she had other ideas in her mind when she saw the cute little puppy in Rachel's arms.

"Who's this little guy?" Quinn crouched so that she was face to face with the golden puppy.

"Oh, him I um… adopted him from the animal shelter," Rachel explained, clutching her puppy closer to her.

"What's his name?"

"I haven't named him yet." Quinn tentatively reached out a hand to pet the small puppy. "Oh Quinn, please be careful. He's not exactly accustomed to…" Rachel trailed off when her puppy nuzzled into Quinn's hand and then proceeded to lick the blonde's fingers when she pulled her hand away. The brunette frowned slightly; it had taken far longer for her to get even a similar response, but on the bright side she did like how her puppy already liked Quinn.

"He's a cutie," Quinn commented, maneuvering out of the way so that Rachel could open the door to her house. They entered and quickly ascended the stairs to Rachel's room. Despite having been there before, Quinn would always giggle upon the sight of the gold star plastered outside her door.

Quinn settled herself onto Rachel's bed, with the singer following soon after and settling her new puppy down on the bed right next to her. Rachel sat down next to the dog, so that he was directly in between the two girls. The two of them worked diligently, only stopping for snack breaks or when the puppy would whine for some attention.

The two girls would take turns petting him, spending more attention on him than their actual project. At some point the doorbell rang. Rachel got up to answer, but then sat back down when she heard one of her dads say they were going to get it. A few seconds later she heard him call again, "Sweetheart, its Finn." The tall boy was then seen in the doorway.

"Hey Rach," he greeted quietly, the tension between them still very apparent, and added a "Quinn," when he noticed her presence.

"Finn," the two girls replied simultaneously. "How are you?" Rachel continued.

"I'm good, I'm- hey, you got a puppy!" His uneasiness wore off as he saw the golden dog. The giant boy walked swiftly towards him and reached a hand out for his head. "Hey, there little- Ow!" The puppy barked out and bit down angrily on his finger. "What the fuck! Stupid bitch!" Rachel quickly got up and defended her new pet. Quinn on the other hand was biting back laughter.

"Finn! Don't use that kind of language around my puppy! He's afraid of people." Finn was bewildered by Rachel's actions of defending the dog that just bit him and showed her the injured finger. He was clearly being a bit melodramatic as there wasn't any blood drawn and hardly even a mark. Quinn burst out at how childish he was being, but that was expected, she had always known that he was a bit of a man-child.

"What's so funny?!"

"Nothing, nothing," Quinn answered in between giggles.

"Yeah, well I'd like to see you pet that demon dog!"

"Finn!" Rachel reprimanded.

"Okay I will," Quinn readily accepted his challenge. "Come here boy," she cooed. The puppy easily calmed and slowly made his way to Quinn, curling up on her lap. "Good boy," she praised, rubbing his back and giggling once more while flashing a triumphant smirk towards her dumb-founded ex. He furrowed his brow and made to approach her but was stopped by Rachel.

"Why don't we go to the downstairs bathroom and check on that finger of yours?" she suggested, showing off that side of her that Quinn readily admired. Rachel could almost always forgive people; Quinn had never seen an instant when she hadn't.

"Why can't we just use-"

"Downstairs, Finn." The tall boy grumbled and begrudgingly went along.

"I'll be right back Quinn." And then they were gone. Quinn frowned at the thought of Rachel being with Finn, but smiled again at the sight of the puppy in her lap. She pet him again, his tail wagging back and forth appreciatively.

"Such a good boy," she cooed. "You'll protect Rachel from big ol' Finnhead, won't you?"

*bark*

"Good to hear," she said with a laugh. "You don't do like him do you?"

*whine*

"Thought not; I don't either." She was silent for a bit, reminiscing about the history the three of them had. It was a messy one to say the least. But she was soon brought out of her trance by another bark. She looked down at the dog that was staring up at her with adoring brown eyes. "Hey, can you do me a favor?"

*bark*

"Watch out for Rachel okay? And if you can, try to find her someone special." She felt kind of silly for talking about this with a dog, but she didn't really have anyone else to talk with this about. Santana and Brittany didn't know, and Santana would undoubtedly throw jokes her way while Brittany would make crazy suggestions. So it was nice for her to finally talk about this, especially with someone who couldn't answer back. "She's been really upset since Finn. She doesn't show it, but she is, and she deserves someone special."

*bark bark*

"Thanks."

Rachel soon reentered the room sans Finn. Quinn didn't bother to ask her how she got him to leave. Their mutual ex had been coming by consistently in a vain effort to win back Rachel's heart. Quinn played the role of the supportive best friend, but talks of how Rachel should stay single felt hypocritical to her when she truly wanted the tiny singer all to herself. So for now she tried to bury those feelings, at least until they were halfway through college. And if Rachel was still available, Quinn found that highly doubtful, she'd make her move.

They'd managed to get a fair amount of work done so they ordered some pizza (half vegan and half bacon), since Rachel's dads were going out, and watched a movie in Rachel's room, her puppy once again settled between them. They did this often after they were done working, which was probably why they were taking so long to get their project done. Not that either of them minded.

Spending time with Quinn helped fill the void left in Rachel's heart. It was always just the two of them, unless they spontaneously ran into some of their friends. For Rachel, it was almost like being in a new relationship except without the kissing, flowers, gifts, and intimate touches. But then again Finn never really gave her flowers or gifts so that wasn't much of a change.

But there were hugs, and lots of them. Rachel felt safe in Quinn's arms. And she enjoyed how she could easily bury her face in Quinn's chest or rest her head on her shoulder; a luxury that was unavailable with Finn. She liked Quinn's hugs.

The movie came to a close and Quinn gathered her things to leave while Rachel made sure to double check that everything was in order. "Okay, so I'll keep the poster board and I already e-mailed you our powerpoint."

"Yeah, the hour long powerpoint," Quinn exasperated. "We're only supposed to have a twenty minute presentation."

"I'll shorten it," Rachel replied, sounding irritated, but she was anything but.

"Okay, bye Rach."

"Bye."

The puppy eyed his new owner as she watched her friend depart. He liked both girls. They were nice and their hands were very soft. Quinn had asked him for a favor, and looking over at Rachel he knew that he'd live up to it. He'd find Rachel that special someone, and he already knew who that someone was.


	2. Chapter 2

Rachel settled down on her bed, her feet aimlessly swinging off the side, as Quinn left. She looked over to her nameless puppy and smiled widely. He eagerly (but slowly, due to his bad leg) got onto his owner's lap. Rachel rubbed his back saying, "Good boy." He rolled over so that she'd have access to his belly which she promptly scratched. "It's nice that you've already gotten along so well with Quinn, but…" she abruptly stopped her ministrations, eliciting a needy whine from her puppy. "You shouldn't go biting people."

*whine*

"I mean it," she scolded lightly, not wanting to scare him. "I understand that you may have sensed the uneasiness between myself and Finn, but that does not give you the right to go and bite him." The puppy pouted a pout that resembled the one that Rachel had perfected. She couldn't help but smile. "I'm sure you're hungry, aren't you?"

*bark*

"Well, then let's go downstairs and get you a treat," she offered happily.

*bark bark*

They pair made their way downstairs. Prior to the adoption, Rachel and her dads and prepared by purchasing some necessities. They already had some dog food, some treats and a nameless bowl. They still needed to get a leash and a collar, and a new bowl once Rachel found the proper name for the newest addition to the Berry household.

She got the plain looking red bowl and poor a modest amount of food into it. Her puppy eagerly ran up and gave a sniff. His face scrunched up in confusion; it didn't smell like meat. He looked up at Rachel with the same pout he had from earlier.

"It's vegetarian," she explained weakly, already feeling that her first attempt at being a pet owner was resulting in a catastrophe. "If you don't like it I've got another bag that's not vegetarian," she added in desperation. Rachel was excellent at a lot of things, but she had never been responsible for another life before; she needed more training in that department. Right now she was thinking that maybe she should have put some more thought into this before adopting her puppy.

Her face fell in defeat. Not even a full day yet and she had already proven to be an inconsiderate owner. The singer spun around, making her way to the other bag of food. But she was stopped by a tugging on her knee sock. At first she thought that she had got it caught on something, but then she looked down to see her puppy lightly biting down to keep her from leaving.

Once he got her attention, the tiny puppy went back to his bowl. He settled himself so that he had eye contact with Rachel and began to eat. Rachel let out an "Aww," at the gesture. She went over to him and squatted in front of him. "You don't have to eat it if you don't like it," she assured, but instead of stopping like Rachel had expected the puppy continued to eat. It actually looked like he had sped up. Rachel was confused. "Do you like it?" she had to ask. He stopped eating for a second to look up at her.

*bark*

Upon seeing the happy smile on Rachel's face, the puppy resumed eating his meal. The singer, feeling relived, plopped herself down and watched as the golden puppy licked off every stray bit until his bowl was spotless. With his belly full, the puppy collapsed onto the cold tile floor. Rachel would have scolded him for eating so fast, but knowing that he probably hadn't eaten like that in a long time she could only giggle at his actions.

"You full?" she cooed.

*tired bark*

"Okay," Rachel giggled. "Let's take you upstairs for a little nap." The brunette scooped him up into her arms and ascended the stairs back to her room. She had a bit of trouble opening the door, but soon had them both inside and on her bed. She curled upped with him with his back pressed against her front.

Rachel felt her puppy's tail wagging back and forth. The swell of happiness she felt made her completely forget about the heartache of Finn breaking up with her. He may have had a point because, to be honest, Rachel didn't think that Finn was made for New York. But at least he could have given it a shot.

As prepared as she was for the big city, Rachel was scared. Graduation loomed ever closer, and with that came the threat of drifting apart from her friends and family. She hadn't put much thought into that. And the fact that Rachel didn't have any friends until the past few years only heightened her fear.

And so her most recent friendship with Quinn was much appreciated, since she wouldn't be too far away at Yale. But of course distance wasn't the only thing that Rachel enjoyed about her friendship with Quinn. Rachel was always much more at ease in the blonde's company. They had intellectual conversations, had sleepovers, and shared secrets (ones that Rachel had never even told Finn or Kurt). Quinn was special.

And by the way her puppy had reacted earlier, Rachel was sure he felt the same. She gently stroked his back. It made a note to look up apartments; there was no way that she'd be able to keep him in a NYADA dorm, but there was also no way that she would leave him behind.

Once the wagging stopped, Rachel got off the bed and went downstairs to get some food into her own stomach. She ate quickly and then went back upstairs and changed into some pajamas. It was a bit early for her to go to sleep, but she liked the feel of cuddling with her puppy. Rachel got onto her bed and carefully brought him into her arms. She nuzzled into him and pulled the covers over them before she too fell asleep.

The following morning when she woke, her puppy was still snuggly wrapped in her arms. She was rather glad that it was only Sunday and so she'd not have to go to school. The singer bounced off the bed and got started on her morning routine. The sound of the elliptical roused her sleeping companion. He was a bit panicked at first and spun around a bit until his eyes landed on Rachel. The puppy started walk towards her but stopped when he reached the edge of the bed; he was quite small and so it was quite a bit drop. Rachel stopped her workout and picked him up. "Morning boy, you hungry?"

*bark*

She went for the door and started going downstairs. Not even halfway down, she heard the doorbell ring. Rachel would wake up a bit later on the weekends, but even then she still woke up pretty early. She was quite confused about who would be coming by at this time. Since the front door was closer to her than the kitchen, she went to open it before preparing breakfast for her puppy. Outside she was greeted to the sight of Quinn.

"Hey Rach."

"Quinn, hi. What are you doing here this early?"

"I think I forgot my notebook here yesterday."

"Oh, well feel free to look," Rachel replied. "But you know you didn't have to come out here this early for that." It was as though Rachel was upset to see Quinn; she just found this all to be a bit odd.

"I know," the former cheerleader admitted. "But it's a good excuse to come and see this little guy." She leaned over to pet the puppy in Rachel's arms. The brunette wasn't sure why but she felt a pang of jealousy as she watched Quinn run her fingers through the tiny puppy's fur. But she pushed those thoughts aside; Rachel Berry might get jealous from time to time, but she wouldn't allow herself to be jealous of a puppy. "You give him a name yet?" she questioned absentmindedly, her hand still stroking the golden puppy.

"Um, no. Not, not yet."

"Well, he needs a name doesn't he? Why don't we think of a few?" Quinn asked happily.

"Of course," Rachel quickly accepted. "But I still need to get my morning routine done and I was going to feed him. Do you think you-"

"I'll take care of him," Quinn answered before the brunette could even finish her question. She reached out and Rachel gently handed her the puppy before bouncing upstairs and directing Quinn towards the kitchen. The blonde easily found the bowl as well as two relatively small bags of dog food. "Vegetarian?" she silently questioned to herself, shaking her head. Quinn ignored that bag and opened the other one. "Let's get you some real food, shall we?"

After eating himself to sleep the previous night, the tiny puppy savored every bite this time around. He ate slowly while Quinn examined the meatless excuse for dog food. She had to suppress her laughter; count on Rachel to try to turn her puppy into a vegetarian. Once he was done, she brought him upstairs where Rachel was still finishing her morning routine. Quinn searched for her missing notebook which she found on top of Rachel's dresser, and then scratched the golden puppy's belly until Rachel finished.

Later…

"Mufasa?" Rachel questioned to the blonde who was currently lying down on her bed. "Really Quinn? Mufasa?" Quinn shot up to a sitting position while pulling her legs close to her chest.

"What?" she said with a shrug. "I like the Lion King."

"I know you do Quinn, but-"

"Lion Quinn," the blonde corrected, earning an eyeroll from her friend.

"I know you do Lion Quinn, but I have a puppy not a lion."

"Okay, how about Quincy?" she suggested.

"Hm," Rachel paused to think for a moment, but then something dawned on her, "Hey, you're just trying to get me to name him after you!" Quinn pressed both hands towards her heart and jaw fell in feigned shock.

"I am not!" Rachel gave her a stern look. "Okay, maybe I am. But he's blonde like me," she picked him up so that Rachel could see both of their faces. "And he's super cute and amazing like me." Quinn flashed a bright smile when she heard Rachel laugh and then snort, quickly covering her mouth to prevent another one from happening. Once she calmed down, Rachel playfully shook her head.

"But Quinn he's got brown eyes."

"Just like yours."

"Just like mine."

"Then it's like he's our little baby." She said the words before she fully thought them out, causing an awkward silence in the room while both of them avoided each other's gazes. Since the silence was her fault Quinn decided to end it, "Okay, well what about Tony?"

"Tony?"

"Yeah, since we all know that you'll have a bunch of them when you get older maybe he could be your first one?"

"I- I like it. What do you think?" she asked while taking the puppy from Quinn, bringing him face to face with her. "Do you like Tony?"

*bark bark*

"Okay, then it's settled. Thanks Quinn."

"No problem."


	3. Chapter 3

Monday. A school day. Never before had Rachel so hated a school day. She had an adorable puppy to take care of; why did she have to go to school when he needed her? But she couldn't risk her grades for Tony. Skipping classes would surely be detrimental to her future success on Broadway. The brunette reluctantly got up and started preparing for the day.

Her emergency slushie kit sat by her dresser; Rachel didn't really need it nowadays, but an extra set of clothes was still a useful thing to have. Tony was asleep beside the foot of her bed so she opened the drawers as quietly as possible. She placed a nicely folded sweater and a skirt along with some fresh underwear next to the bottle of shampoo that was already in her bag. She partly zipped it up and made her way to her bathroom.

Rachel started to fill her tub with water and stripped her clothes off when it was finished. She would typically only take showers in the morning, but today she really needed to relax. It had only been a few days since she adopted Tony, and she was quite worried about leaving him at home with one of her dads. She eased into the tub and got the bubbles ready.

All the singer could think of was him being all scared without her around. She was frightened just at the thought of him being afraid. But she'd just have to suck it up for a few days until the weekend. Then she'd be able to have him all to herself for two days before the cycle repeated itself. She frowned while soaking in the heavenly warm water.

This was something else she hadn't taken into consideration before becoming a pet owner. It was so unlike her, to not fully do her research before doing something, but looking at her puppy's sad face when she first saw him was enough for her to forgo all her prior rules. There was a look of vulnerability in his eyes that she had only ever seen once before. Although Rachel couldn't quite place when and where she had seen it, she knew that heartbreaking, desperate 'need to be loved' look.

The only thing that consoled the diva now was the knowledge that he was now in a loving home, and eating properly. Rachel had been in the tub for some time by now and despite how relaxing her bubble bath was, she was cutting it close on time. She got out of the tub, drained it, and toweled offed. Back inside her room she found her puppy nowhere to be found. "Tony?" she called, but found no response in return.

She was slightly worried, but they didn't have a doggy door, and Tony was too small to make it onto her window seat and make it outside. And besides the window was closed, so he couldn't have gotten out that way even if he could reach it. Rachel got dressed in proper school attire and grabbed her bags. She went downstairs and grabbed a granola bar for the road, but still found on sign of her puppy. The singer really wanted to at least say goodbye to him, but she'd be running late if she dallied any longer. She left calling out, "I'm off to school dad! Take care of Tony!"

Rachel got into her car and drove off to school. She switched through the stations, hoping to find an adequate tune for the morning, but suddenly heard a faint bark. Rachel lowered the volume and waited a beat. When on other sound was heard, she assumed that she must have some part of an ad over the radio. There's nothing good on so she shuts it off for the rest of the drive.

It's only when she pulls into the school that she hears it again. She knew that it couldn't be the radio and hardly likely that it's coming from outside. Her brows furrow in confusion. The singer started examining her car for the source of the noise only to hear another bark emanating from inside her duffle. "Tony?" she called uncertainly.

*bark*

"Tony!" Rachel shrieked, scrambling to open her bag for fear that her puppy might not have enough air. She pulled Tony out and hugged him close to her chest. "Oh Tony, are you okay? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be home!"

*bark*

Rachel frowned; he didn't seem to understand, that or he didn't care. The singer knew couldn't take care of Tony while in school, but she also didn't have enough time to go back home now. She let out a sigh. "Okay, I guess you can stay. But you have to be quiet." Rachel gently placed him back in and partly zipped the bag back up. She got up and slung her duffle over her shoulder.

The singer scurried over to her first period, completely ignoring her locker and Finn, who was right next to it. It wasn't that big of a deal since she already had everything she needed for her morning classes, and she couldn't put away her emergency slushie kit because Tony was in there.

She kept him directly under her table, and checked on him regularly. He would whine periodically and was a bit fidgety, but luckily he wasn't too loud. Rachel was able to make it through her first few classes without incident. But after every class she would pass by her locker and Finn would consistently be there.

Rachel couldn't keep avoiding him, and only had one class left before she actually had to go to her locker. She was frowning when she exited her third period. The singer composed herself for whatever she could expect form her ex. He caught sight of her and smiled that dopey smile that she once saw as cute, but before either could even form a word an angry bark escaped her bag. Rachel's eyebrows rose; Tony really didn't like Finn.

"What's that?" Finn asked. "Did you bring your dog with you?"

"He snuck in my bag," Rachel explained.

"Oh cool. Can I play with him?"

"Finn, I don't think that's the best idea. Don't you remember last time?"

"Ah, it'll be fine. We just got off on the wrong foot," he assured, already opening the bag to get a clear look at the golden puppy. "Come on, trust me." Rachel couldn't help but roll her eyes; she and Quinn had just had a conversation a few weeks ago about when boys would use the line 'trust me.' Suffice to say, their conclusion was less than satisfactory. "Please, Rach," he pleaded.

"Okay, fine. His name is Tony." Finn did a fist pump. "But take care of him," she added, but the tall boy seemed to be ignoring her as he stuffed her puppy into his own duffle bag, which Rachel was sure to be stuffed with football equipment and thus not as spacious as her own. He hurried off and soon Rachel found an arm on her shoulder. She turned to see Quinn (it had become habit for them to meet here after third since they had fourth together) looking at her worriedly.

"Did I just see Finn putting Tony in his bag?"

"Yeah, I guess he's trying to bond with him."

"You know he's just using him to get to you?"

"I know," Rachel answered softly.

"And he's just playing with your heart, like he did mine."

"I know."

"And remember, he broke up with-"

"I know!" Rachel said again, her voice much louder. "I know."

"I'm sorry Rach." Quinn felt bad for being a bit too insistent. "I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"I know." Rachel smiled at how much Quinn cared for her, and also because she sounded currently sounded like a broken record. And it was quite a day when Rachel Berry sounded like a broken record. "But I'm sure nothing too bad will happen."

Elsewhere…

Tony was upset. Not at Rachel, but this stupid oaf who took him from her. Now instead of being able to use Rachel's nice smelling clothes as a bed, he surrounded by football equipment, some school stuff, and awful scent coming from something or maybe everything.

He started to knack on his gear. Stupid boy has to go and ruin his plan to sneak into Quinn's bag just like he did Rachel's. His teeth aren't very sharp so he doesn't do much damage, but it's enough to tear a small hole in his jersey. Tony whined and went for the cleats; they smelt especially bad. The noise is enough to get Finn's attention. He looked down and saw Tony's attempt at ruining his things.

"Hey stop that!" he scolded quietly, so as not to alert the teacher. Tony blatantly disobeyed and continued on the attack on a binder. It's a lot tougher than the clothes he was chewing on, but he manages to get to some of the papers inside. "Stop it, I mean it."

Tony's sure that he's bluffing. The boy is dumb, but he should be smart enough to know that harming him in anyway won't bode well with Rachel. But after class, Finn proves to be stupider than Tony originally thought when the giant stuffs him into his locker. "If you can't behave then stay in there." The metal door is slammed shut and Tony whimpers. This locker smells as bad as the bag and is far more cramp. He paws at the door, desperately but to no avail.

Later…

Tony doesn't know how long he's been in this smelly locker, which has only gotten smellier since he entered. He's scared and is starting to think that he may never see Rachel or Quinn again. But just as all hope is lost, he hears shuffling outside and voices. At first it's soft and then, "You put him in your locker?! Are you crazy?! Open it now!" Tony hears the lock being fiddled with and then the door is opened and he's greeted to the sight of a distraught Rachel, a concerned Quinn, and a guilty looking Finn.

The three of them scrunch up their noses. They had all noticed a peculiar smell when they got in the vicinity of Finn's locker, but the smell was far stronger with the door open. "What is that?" Quinn asked, pinching her nose with her thumb and forefinger. Tony whined, and looked down embarrassedly. Below him, all of Finn's belongings were damp and a number were a shade of yellow.

"Did he-"

"Finn shush!"

"But he-"

"But nothing! You left him alone in there!"

"But-"

"You. Left. Him. Alone," she said slowly, empathizing each word. "He was somewhere dark and cramp, and he was alone and had no idea where I was. What did you think was going to happen?" She didn't really want an answer, but Finn didn't seem to know that. He opened his mouth to answer and was quickly shushed. Rachel took hold of Tony and cradled him in her arms. "Are you okay baby?"

*whine*

"Quinn, can you get my slushie kit and meet me in the restroom? I need to clean him up." The blonde gave Tony a goodbye pat before leaving her favorite person and favorite dog alone with her least favorite person, shooting him a threatening glare which he missed. Finn was too preoccupied with the idea that Quinn could get into Rachel's locker when he didn't even know her combo.

With Finn busy with his thought process, Rachel decided to leave. She was down the hall when he finally noticed that she wasn't in front of her. He chased after, his locker wide open and releasing it's awful smell, but then stopped when Tony giving him a face from over Rachel's shoulder. If he didn't know better he'd swear that he was laughing at him.


	4. Chapter 4

It's not long before Tony is placed in a sink and being thoroughly washed off by Quinn. She's currently scrubbing behind his ears while Rachel's off in one of the stalls getting changed. Prior, Tony had smelt of urine and whatever it was that Finn's locker had reeked of before his presence. Some of that odor had rubbed off on her, hence the reason she needed to change.

Tony's plan hadn't gone off as he wanted, but so far he was happy with the progress that he'd accomplished. And considering the look on his mama's face when she found that he had been stuffed into a locker, he was actually glad that his original idea had failed. He could only image the kind of distress he would have caused her if she found that halfway through the day that he had snuck out of her bag.

But right now he wasn't too worried about plotting the demise of the evil giant. He was winning so far and he was certain that his eventual triumph would be the stuff of legends; the tale of the tiny golden puppy that single-handedly defeated an ogre. Of course Tony cared little for the glory of it all, really he didn't. All he wanted was for his mama to be happy… and to get back at the big dummy for hurting her.

Rachel soon exited the stall in a fresh set of clothes and aided Quinn in scrubbing Tony down. It was lunch so both girls had plenty of time to make sure that he smelt nice and fresh, and since Rachel's shampoo was the only thing they had to clean him with, he was starting to smell like strawberries. The delicious aroma invaded his senses. He was getting hungry.

*whine*

Both girls pulled back, thinking that they may have hurt his injured hind leg. He seemed to be fine though and so Rachel squatted down so that she was face to face with him. "What's wrong Tony?" He waded in the water and sniffed himself. Rachel got the picture and instantly informed Quinn, "I think he's hungry," she said worriedly. "But I don't have anything to feed him with."

"I can go to the store if you want," the blonde offered.

"Quinn you don't-"

"I want to Rach," Quinn assured. "You finish up here and I'll see what I can get him." Rachel politely nodded as she got a towel out of her bag, watching Quinn give Tony a light scratch on the head before bouncing out of the restroom. She dried her puppy off and made sure his fur looked presentable, even though she wasn't exactly trying to show him off. But it was lunch so most of the staff would be in the teacher's lounge, so she thought that it'd be fine if she let had him out of her bag for a while.

With Tony cradled in her arms, Rachel walked towards the cafeteria. She glanced over to where the Glee kids sat, and when she noted that Finn was nowhere to be seen she sat down at the end of the table. When Tony saw all the eyes on the pair of them he hid as best he could in Rachel's arms. The brunette gently rubbed his back, in an attempt to soothe him so she could introduce him to her friends.

Brittany came round from where she was seated across from Santana and plopped herself in the remaining space between Rachel and the edge of the bench. "Who's he?" she asked excitedly, already trying to a get a peek of him through Rachel's arms. Rachel lifted her arms from over her puppy and situated him so that he was sitting on her lap and facing everyone.

"This is Tony," she introduced, pausing a beat so that they could all get a good look at him. "He's kind of shy so don't take it the wrong way if he doesn't warm up to you very quickly." His eyes scanned all the unfamiliar faces until finally landing on the blonde that had sat next to his mama. She had a bright smile and looked friendly enough, so he tentatively leaned into her hand when she went to pet him.

"He's cute," the blonde commented after she was done. She went back to where she was previously seated and Rachel let everyone else pet Tony as long as he was okay with it. He especially liked Mike and Sam, but seemed to have issues concerning Puck's cologne, and was sniffing Santana for a while before he let her touch him.

Before long Quinn was back with a small package. She sat down besides Rachel, right where Brittany was before and placed the container down in front of them, allowing Rachel to get a better look at the tasty red fruit. "Strawberries?" she asked.

Quinn shrugged. "I thought that since he smelt them that he might like some," she reasoned and opened the plastic container, taking a strawberry out.

"But I've never fed him strawberries."

"You're the one who tried to turn him into a vegetarian," Quinn pointed out. Rachel scoffed, but scooted closer as Quinn popped the tasty treat into Tony's mouth. He a bit unsure about this new food but it smelt like Rachel so decided to give it a shot, and he didn't want to make Quinn upset either. Tony took a huge bit, opening his mouth wide to take the entire fruit into his mouth. After the initial taste, he started to cheek happily. "See, he likes it."

Rachel craned her head around to get a better look at the content face her puppy had at finally getting food into his empty belly. "Aw, you like your treat?" she cooed, rubbing his stomach. Tony finished what was in his mouth and would have answered, but there was already another strawberry in front of him so he eagerly bit into it.

The brunette went back to her previous position and planted a kiss on top of her puppy's head. She was running her fingers through his fur, watching him eat, when she found Quinn offering her a strawberry. A pale, slender had held the delicious fruit in between her thumb and forefinger just inches away from Rachel's full red lips. The singer shook her head. "Quinn these are for Tony."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind," the blonde argued. "Right boy?" she cooed, scratching his side.

*bark*

Of course Tony didn't mind. He'd gladly share his food with his mama or Quinn anytime. He wagged his tail as best he could, with it squished between himself and Rachel, and looked up at her with that pout that he had learned she had a particular weakness to. As expected, Rachel gave in and took a bit out of the strawberry. Without much thought, Quinn took what remained of the fruit and placed it into her own mouth. The pair smiled and giggled.

*bark bark*

They looked down at Tony and Quinn gave him another strawberry, before offering another to Rachel and repeating the gesture of eating whatever the singer hadn't. "Oh, can you two just get a room!" Their heads darted towards the source of the voice that interrupted them to find Santana with smug look across her face. Rachel and Quinn turned scarlet. "I'm already stuck with Sue's diet; I'd at least like to keep it in my stomach."

Upon closer inspection, they found that the current Head Cheerio wasn't the only one that had been watching their intimate act. They grew in deeper shades of red and decided to find somewhere more private to eat.

"San, be nice," Brittany chastised as their friends left. "I think what they did was cute." Suddenly her eyes lit up. "You know what would be a great idea? Us doing that the next time we go feed the ducks together." The Latina's eyes grew wide and panicked. She was about to go and cover her girlfriend's mouth to prevent her from saying anything else embarrassing when she heard snickering from the table. A quick glare quickly shut them up, although she wasn't able to catch the culprit. "We can go today," Brittany said happily.

"Sure Britt," she complied through gritted teeth. Santana really didn't like feeding the ducks. Okay, they were cute, she guessed. And sure, they made Brittany happy. And maybe… just maybe she kind did enjoy playing with those little baby ducklings. But they always hogged all of her girlfriend's attention.

Damn you Berry, she thought.

Outside Rachel and Quinn had found themselves and Tony a bench where they could continue. They sat down right next to each other, their bodies flush and Tony stretched out on his back across their laps. He rolled over onto his stomach when Quinn had another strawberry within reach. "He seems to be doing okay," Quinn said absentmindedly.

"Yeah, I can't believe that Finn would do something like that."

"Me neither," the blonde agreed. She was completely shocked at how her ex had been stupid enough to lock a puppy in such a dark and enclosed space. Having dated him, she knew that he wasn't the brightest guy around, but really? Right now she was especially grateful that Rachel had been able to break away from him before making her way to New York.

They continued to feed him, and each other until Tony refused to take any more food. Before lunch ended he drifted off into sleep. Since Rachel's duffle, where she had been carrying him all day long, was currently filled with some dirty clothes Quinn offered to use her bag for the rest of the day.

The two of them shared the rest of their classes too, so Tony would never be too far away from Rachel, and Quinn could stuff her books into her locker since she could easily share. The rest of the day was fairly quiet, which Rachel was grateful for; partly because she didn't have to worry about Tony getting into trouble but mostly because she hoped that a good rest would help him forget all about this undoubtedly traumatic experience.

Rachel hadn't really given much thought into getting back into a relationship with Finn. She needed time after his most recent dumping, and if things worked out then maybe over time she would come to forgive him for repeatedly breaking her heart just to get back together with her when it was convenient for him.

But his current actions were causing her to reevaluate their situation. Rachel wanted, needed, someone who would love her unconditionally. Someone who shared her interests, or if they weren't, they would at least be honest about it. She needed someone she could trust; tell secrets to. And most recently, she needed someone who would take good care of Tony with her.

Rachel wanted a family one day; a big one. Not for a while though. Not until after she got married and won a few Tony's and possible some other awards, building up towards her EGOT. But anyways, she wanted a family. And so far her puppy was the closest she's had to starting a family of her very own. He was the first time that she's be responsible for another life and Rachel needed someone who would love him and care for him just as she did.


	5. Chapter 5

When Rachel got home she got Tony out of the back seat, where he was strapped in securely, and took him upstairs, stopping only to explain to her dad what had happened with Tony sneaking into her bag. He had woken up twice during the day but took another nap once they got to her car. She placed him gently on top of her bed and started on her homework. He roused when the bed shifted when Rachel shuffled through her bag.

The golden puppy walked over to her and curled up in her lap. "Hey there, boy. Have a good nap?" He nuzzled into her and took in her scent, noting that the smell of her shampoo had faded from his fur. Rachel scratched his back for a bit before returning to her work, finding a way to continue with disturbing him.

Tony watched the movement of her hands intently. He decided that whatever she was writing looked very pretty, even though he had no idea what it was or what it said. His tailed started to wag back and forth. Tony couldn't image having a more perfect mama… well there was Quinn, but he was hoping to have her as a second mommy.

Elsewhere…

"Come on San, feed the duck," Brittany requested of her girlfriend. Santana sighed as she broke off another piece of bread before dropping it into the mouth of the duck that was currently sitting in the blonde cheerleader's lap. She glared at it. Santana hated this duck, just like she hated the five or so ducks that had sat on her girlfriend's lap prior.

And to make matters worse, people were starting to stare. Frankly, she was a bit glad that they were just observing their odd behavior as opposed to judging them on their sexual orientation, but that didn't help the unease she felt at their leering eyes.

"San," Brittany's sing-songy voice said. The Latina broke off another piece of bread, preparing to place it in the duck's mouth before her girlfriend stopped her. "Uh uh," she said, shaking her head before opening her mouth. Santana grunted in frustration and tossed the small piece of bread in Brittany's mouth. She was about to give another piece to the duck but caught sight of Brittany's eyes watching her expectantly. Knowing what she had to do, Santana ate the bread and continued to repeat the whole process.

This sucked. No, it really sucked. There was absolutely nothing cute, sweet, romantic, or sexy about feeding her girlfriend, and these girlfriend stealing ducks, breadcrumbs. "Stupid Berry. Dumb Q. That little… cute… fucking dog," she muttered under her breath.

Back at Rachel's…

Tony began to plot. Frankly, due to his young age, his ideas weren't very complex. All he knew was that he had to make the giant look bad (which honestly wasn't very hard) and make sure that Rachel and Quinn spent time together. His eyes started to roam throughout Rachel's room, finally landing at a picture frame on her bedside table.

*whine*

Rachel stopped, lying her notebook down on her bed, and brought her attention to Tony. "What's wrong boy?" she asked. Tony got off her lap and slowly went for the picture frame. Rachel eased up onto her knees and followed her puppy. She grasped on the photo with one hand and Tony with the other. She settled Tony back onto her lap, holding the Glee Club portrait in front of them. Tony pawed at the Quinn in the photo while letting out a sad whine. He tilted his head back, looking at Rachel with big brown eyes. "Aw, you miss her boy?"

*whine*

"Don't worry, we'll see her soon," she assured. "And I'm sure she misses you too." A thought passed through her mind after she said those words. She wondered, briefly, how much Quinn did miss Tony. The pair had gotten along better than she could have hoped for, given her puppy's hesitancy around people.

It hadn't dawned on Rachel until now, how much she had hoped that Quinn would get along with him. Of course she wanted all of her friends to accept Tony, but Quinn's opinion on the matter had been especially important. But Quinn's thoughts and opinions had always been important to Rachel, even if the brunette was sometimes too stubborn to listen to her.

She moved the picture slightly so that Tony's paw was no longer covering Quinn. It was a sophomore year picture; their first Glee Club photo together. As such, their more recent additions, such as Blaine and Sam, were not present.

They weren't friends back then; she and Quinn, but one probably couldn't tell that from the photo, especially after one considered the fact that it was Quinn who got them the yearbook photo that only Rachel really wanted. It took a while for Quinn to make that bit of information known. Well it actually took a bit of detective work from Rachel, realizing that the Cheerios were missing one of their pages, and then a good chunk of pestering to Quinn (after they were friends) to find out the truth.

They were standing next to each other, Quinn's baby bump hidden behind Mercedes. It was a request the blonde had made prior to taking the photo; an unnecessary action in Rachel's mind. Quinn was beautiful and breath-taking, pregnancy or no pregnancy.

Quinn would make a good mom one day, Rachel thought. She could see it already. Quinn would have a few kids; two girls and one boy in Rachel's mind. The middle child was the splitting image of her mother, sharing her blonde hair with her baby brother. But the eldest only retained her mother's hazel eyes and instead had cascading locks of brown hair that would be put into a side braid, just like her mother used to wear it when her hair had been longer.

It was a nice thought, although Rachel couldn't bring herself to imagine a man in the picture. It felt wrong for some reason, and she wasn't very fond of the idea of having to share Quinn's attention (aside from, of course, potential future children) with someone else. The two of them had been inseparable since they became friends.

Rachel was brought out of her musings when her dads called her down for dinner. She quickly arranged her things and scooped up Tony. Once downstairs she placed him in front of his bowl, making a mental note to get a new with his name on it as well as a leash and collar. The brunette went and poured him a good amount of the non-vegetarian dog food, knowing that he already had a good intake of fruit today.

He quickly dug in and Rachel went over to the dining table to have dinner with her dads. Tony was quite happy with Rachel's choice of food for him. He enjoyed the other food well enough and he loved the strawberries, but nothing could quite compare to a nice serving of meat. He finished quickly; the Berry family was only about halfway through with their own meal, and decided to roam around the first floor.

In his short time here, he had spent most of his time in his mama's room and hadn't been able to fully explore his new home. He made his way into the living room. Inside he found a lot pretty things. There was a large sofa with floral print. It looked to be soft and comfy, but it too high up for him to get on top of it, especially since one of his hind legs was injured.

He continued on and passed by a shelf full of movies and books, stopping at a glass case once he noticed a picture of Rachel in it. He paused and lied flat on the soft rug, observing the photo on the bottom-most shelf. There were other pictures scattered throughout the case along with ribbons and these shiny looking objects.

The shiny objects were really pretty, Tony thought, almost as pretty as Rachel. But he had no idea what they were. He stared at them intently, partly hypnotized and partly trying to figure out what they were. There were tons, and he could only assume that they were associated with his mama. But how, and why?

Rachel finished her dinner and turned to find that Tony's bowl was already empty and that her puppy was gone. She stopped herself from panicking; what had happened earlier had really scared her, and got up to search for him. She reminded herself that he couldn't escape their house, and was glad to find him lying on his belly in the living room.

She went over and sat next to him. "I see you found my trophy case, boy." She lifted him up and scooted over to where he was sitting while placing him in her lap. "There are a few here from dance competitions," she said. "But most are for singing." Tony's head snapped up to her, and his tail wagged excitedly.

*needy bark*

"Oh, I've haven't sang to you since you got here, have I boy?" He frowned up at her. "Well, we'll have to fix that. Won't we?" She checked the nearby clock. It wasn't very late for her, but Tony needed his rest. The singer carried him, first to the laundry room to get her clothes as well as her duffle (which she had hand washed) and then, after slinging her bag over her shoulder, upstairs while thinking of a song to sing him. They got to her room and she lied him down on the bed, slightly off center and tossed her duffle to the floor.

He looked so happy and content. She decided to lay down with him. It wouldn't be the best position to sing, but right now Rachel wasn't too worried about being perfect. She smiled warmly at Tony and kissed him on the tip of the head before starting.

She sang Savage Garden's 'I Knew I Love You' simply because it seemed to fit so well. As the melodious sound of her voice reached Tony's ears, his brown eyes grew wide, in awe of his mama's beautiful voice. The words she sang hit him right in the heart, filling him with warmth and pride. He had never felt as loved as he did in this singular moment.

Rachel's love for him shown in every action she took. The way her eyes glistened when she looked at him, or how fingers or lips would linger on him for just a second longer before leaving his fur. And the way she hugged him; he could just feel the love radiating off of her when their bodies were in such close perimeter.

Tony hadn't felt loved very often in his short life, but he could tell that Rachel's love was a different kind of love; a special one. He couldn't understand why anyone would ever let her go, but was kind of glad that other people had. Now her love could be shared between himself and hopefully Quinn.

He scooted closer to the brunette, wanting just to be closer to his mama. He hoped that his plan would succeed soon; Tony didn't like the idea of Quinn missing out on the kind of love that he'd experienced in past few days. It felt so good that Tony kind of wished that everyone could know how good it felt to be loved by Rachel Berry… okay not really, but it felt pretty damn good.

As the song came to a close, his eyelids started feeling heavy. The fell close, and he buried himself deeper into Rachel's chest. He felt his mama's arms wrap themselves securely around his small frame and another kiss on the top of his head before hearing her whisper, "Good night Tony. I love you."

The following morning Rachel got up the same time she usually did. But instead of being roused by her alarm, she was woken up by a wetness on her cheek. She blinked a few times before opening her eyes fully to see Tony hovering over her, licking her face. "Morning boy." She sat up and stretched a bit before heading off to her bathroom to get ready for the day.

While she was gone, Tony hoped off the bed, and went in search of Rachel's duffle bag. It had to be here somewhere; he clearly remembered her getting it yesterday. He started searching around the room for it. There was no sign of it on the floor, not even under the bed. He started to get worried; how would he be able to go to school with his mama if he couldn't find her bag?

He continued his mission, this time looking a bit higher off the ground. Sadly, he wouldn't be able to get inside if it wasn't on the floor but if he was lucky he at least be able to reach the strap. If that were the case, he might be able to bite on it and pull it down from wherever it was, though he soon found that that would be an option.

Rachel had strategically placed her duffle on her window seat, completely out of reach. Tony plopped down on his bottom. Everything was ruined just because he couldn't get inside that bag. He kept his eyes fixed on the duffle, which would have a fresh set of Rachel's clothes for him to lie in. When Rachel came back she saw Tony looking sadly up at her duffle. She sat down next to him and rubbed his back comfortingly.

*whine*

"I'm sorry boy, but you can't go to school with me." Tony whimpered and turned towards Rachel, but not at her. Rachel scooted back to get a better look at what had caught her puppy's eye. His nose was pointed straight at the picture they had looked at the previous night. "I know you miss Quinn, but you have to stay here."

*whine*

"Tony I mean it."

Later…

"Shh, Tony you have to quiet or I could get in trouble. Okay I see Quinn over there."


	6. Chapter 6

The blonde was getting closer and closer until Rachel was standing right in front of her, putting Tony in an angle that only allowed him to see a part of Quinn's jean clad thigh. "Hey Quinn," the brunette greeted, lean up and wrapping her arms around her best friend for a short but warm and loving embrace.

"Hey Rach, how are-"

*bark*

Hazel eyes shot down at the duffle hanging off Rachel's shoulder. Quinn couldn't quite see Tony through the small gap in the zipper but she knew he was there. She gave an exasperated sigh. "Rachel, please don't tell me that your bag just barked." Rachel looked down at her feet, shifting her weight from one to the other.

"Okay… I won't."

"Rachel, I'm serious," the taller girl said, worriedly. She brought a hand up to her mouth to suppress a sigh. "I can't believe you let him sneak into your bag again," she exasperated, shaking her head which caused Rachel to frown. Quinn bit her lip; she hated making Rachel sad or upset.

"But I didn't," the singer replied, her original mood now downcast. Quinn arched an eyebrow. "He missed you," she continued, Quinn's expression softening. "And he pouted." The blonde giggled, helping to brighten Rachel up again. "And," she pulled Tony out of her bag, presenting him to Quinn. "Could you say no to that?"

Quinn looked up at Tony and then at Rachel, the two of them sharing identical pouts. It was bad enough when she just had to deal with Rachel's pout, but this… this was just unfair. She was worried about Tony's safety in the school, and the potential of Rachel getting in trouble, but she was faltering quickly. The tiny whimpering sounds that came out of the golden puppy and the way Rachel jutted out her lower lip did Quinn in.

"No," she answered weakly. "I couldn't," There was no way she could, for either of them. Quinn extended her arms and wrapped them around Tony, taking him for Rachel's grasp and hugging him close. The puppy lapped at her face for a bit before settling on resting his head on her shoulder. "I guess you want me to watch him for the day?"

"Would you?"

"Yeah, of course." Rachel jumped up, taking Quinn into another, deeper, hug.

"Thank you." She pulled back and unslung her duffle, handing it to Quinn. "You'll have everything you need inside. I've packed some of the vegetarian and non-vegetarian dog food along with some doggy treats. He can use my clothes as a bed and I even grabbed my old baby blanky in case he gets cold." Quinn quirked an eyebrow and with one hand opened the bag to inspect said blanket. It was a light blue with big gold stars all over. It was adorable and so Rachel. She could suppress her smile. "Don't make fun; my dads bought it for me."

"I'm not. It's cute."

"Okay. Well, let me just say goodbye to Tony and I'll let to get to class." She retrieved her puppy from Quinn's grasp. Holding him just as the blonde had, she gently rubbed his back. "Be good for Quinn, okay? Mama loves you." Rachel placed Tony back into her bag, directly onto the stack of clothing there. He made himself comfortable, digging his nose deeply into her neatly folded sweater.

The bag he was in rocked slight as Quinn made her way to her first period. Tony felt wary, being in a fairly dark space suspended off the ground, but it was a discomfort that he was willing to deal with to be with two most favorite people. Besides, the girls had provided him with a little bit of light and he knew that neither of them would put him in any danger.

Soon the movement stilled and the duffle was placed into Quinn's lap. Tony heard the blonde speak to whomever it was that she sat by, but only a grumbled response in return. "What's got your panties in a bunch?" Santana glared at her best friend. She looked ready to slap her upside the head. "Okay, fine. Don't talk, little miss grouchy pants."

"You know this is your fault," the Latina spat, point a finger at Quinn.

"My fault?"

"Yeah. You and Berry and that stupid dog and those stupid-"

*bark*

"Oh, please don't tell me you have that dog with you," Santana pleaded, now noticing the duffle in Quinn's lap that most definitely didn't belong to her. The blonde's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

"He's got a name San." The Latina ignored her words as she glared at the puppy that had just popped his head out of the duffle. The opening was opposite Santana, so Quinn turned the bag around so he didn't have to twist his head.

"Well, cause of him I didn't get any action last night. And I had to crush my breadsticks and feed them to those stupid ducks." The blonde snorted, in a vain attempt to suppress her laughter. "Laugh while you can. You won't think it's so funny when you have to share your bacon with that dog." Quinn only seemed to think that this was even funnier.

"I'm pretty sure Rachel wouldn't let me anywhere near him with something that fatty." Quinn laughed it off, finding amusement in her friend's displeasure of not getting any. "Besides, I thought you thought those ducks were cute," she teased.

"Shut up Fabray."

"You know you love me."

"Not as much as you love Berry." Any retort that Quinn had was lost in her throat. "Ha, that shut you up." Tony scrunched up his nose and looked up at Santana and then at Quinn, who currently was a bit red and unusually shy. He nudged her side with his head to get her attention and in an attempt to tell her that she didn't need to be embarrassed about loving Rachel.

Just before the late bell rang, Brittany ran in and pulled up a seat between the two. Santana went for a kiss but her girlfriend was too busy looking at the puppy in Quinn's lap. She bent down so that they were at eye level. "Hi," she greeted. "Quinn, since when did you have a dog?"

"He's not mine, Britt. You remember Tony, right?"

"Oh, hi Tony! You spending the day with Q, huh?" she cooed. "Can I pay with him?" Quinn bit down nervously on her lower lip but relented, opening up the duffle. The taller blonde gently pulled him out and laid him down on her lap. He curled up, noting how Santana sneered at him.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Santana had fully expected to have her girlfriend's attention today, but now Rachel's dog was being a cockblock. The Latina slumped down in her chair and decided that she might as well get some work down. She cracked open her book and got started on the day's assignment. Fucking Berry and her stupid dog, she thought.

To make matters worse, the three of them shared their first few periods. Sure Quinn mostly kept the puppy to herself, but that didn't stop Brittany from constantly trying to play with him. It was torture for Santana. Since she had got together with Brittany, it was usually Quinn who would be the odd one out. She didn't like the change.

And it's not like she had to really worry about Quinn feeling left out anymore. Santana had Britt and Quinn had whatever she had with Berry. Hell, Santana knew that Quinn could have exactly what she wanted if she stopped being such a pussy. Not that she cared right now, seeing as Quinn getting in the way of her sweet lady kisses.

After the first few hours of school Santana's eyes hurt, probably from too much glaring. She had never been so happy for the beginning of lunch, or at least she was until Quinn asked them to watch Tony while she went to the rest room. She would have told Quinn that her bathroom sex with Berry could wait, but Brittany accepted before she could.

So here the two of them were, sitting at bench situated outside the restroom. Santana had her elbow resting on the wall, propping her head up. She stared directly in front of her and would probably burned a hole through the wall opposite her if she hadn't noticed Brittany… talking to the puppy.

"Hm, they are being a bit dumb aren't they?"

*bark*

"And you want to do something about it, huh?"

*bark*

"Oh, I like that. I could do that; we're going to her place afterschool anyway."

"What are you two talking about?" Santana interrupted. She had watched for long enough and frankly she was getting curious.

"Sorry San, it's a secret."

"So what, you can't tell your girlfriend?"

"Nope. Tony asked me not to."

"What?! Why?!"

"You were being mean to Rachel." Santana opened her mouth, but the words just would come out. Oh, this was just too much. She knew that that dog was doing this on purpose. He must have. Normally, Santana would have been pissed off. But in this case she was actually kind of impressed. "Hold on to him for a bit," she handed Tony to Santana. "I need to get something out of my locker."

Santana held him awkwardly, both trying to make sure he didn't get hurt but also trying to keep him away from her. "You… you… you're just about as manipulative as me. I hate to say it, but I like it."

*bark*

Quinn exited the restroom and took Tony back. Santana sighed in relief, maybe now she'd get a reward for everything that she had to put up with throughout the day. She made a note to not say anything about Berry for a while. But that wouldn't be much of a problem since she had a hot girlfriend and a lot of wasted time to make for. She grasped onto Brittany's wrist when she got back and dragged her towards the nearest janitor's closet.

Heading towards the cafeteria with Quinn, Tony was running around the best he could in the space of Rachel's duffle. He was eagerly awaiting getting to see his mama again and more so he really wanted to see his new plan in action. With Brittany as a new accomplice, he knew that he was getting closer and closer to achieving his goal.

Upon having that delightful aroma invading his senses again, he peeked out of the opening to see Rachel squatted down right in front of him. She smiled her mega-watt smile and opened the bag up wider, scooping him up into her arms. "Oh, how I've missed you. He wasn't too much trouble was he?"

"Not at all. He was an angel."

*bark*

"Oh, good boy. So are you ready for some lunch?"

*bark*

Later at the Berry household…

Tony was nervous. His latest plan could start any moment now. He could only hope that it would go off better than his last. His unease did not go unnoticed by Rachel, who rolled him onto his back and scratched his belly. "What's wrong boy?" He averted her gaze. Tony knew that he couldn't let her know if his plan was to succeed. He got back on his feet and ran around the bed a bit, quickly assuring Rachel everything was fine.

Rachel went back to her homework when her phone beeped. Tony perked up instantly and waited patiently. This was it. He observed Rachel as she checked the sender of the text she just received. "Oh, it's Quinn," she said with a smile. Tony stayed still; he had to focus. Rachel opened the text, her smile widening as she read the words.

**Quinn: Hey pretty girl, I was wondering if you wanted to go out Friday night?**

Rachel blushed and instinctively tried to hide the redness of her cheeks. As often as Quinn playfully flirted with her, she had never really gotten used to it and would always grow red. And Quinn would always tease her when she ended up turning a shade of pink. The singer jotted down a quick response.

**Rachel: Sure, I'd love to hang out.**

She got a reply almost instantly.

**Quinn: No silly, I mean go out. You know, like a date?**


	7. Chapter 7

Rachel sat on her bed reading and re-reading the text for a good half hour, trying in vain to decipher some hidden meaning in Quinn's words. A date? As in a romantic date? Well of course a romantic date, Rachel thought; there wasn't really any other kind of date. But a date. A date with Quinn Fabray. It was a foreign concept for Rachel. One that was both flattering and terrifying. A fleeting thought passed through the singer's mind that Quinn may have sent it to the wrong number, but she looked back down at the words 'pretty girl.'

It couldn't have been for a guy, and Rachel had never seen Quinn flirt with any else but her so she found it unlikely that it was meant for some other girl; unless Quinn flirted with other girls behind her back. The thought alone filled Rachel with jealousy. It was an unreasonable jealousy, but jealousy none the less.

She felt Tony's nose nudged her leg. He had been lying on the bed, watching her movements. But Rachel hadn't done anything in so long; he had to push things along. Her mouth fell agape as she uttered her first words in past thirty minutes, "Quinn… asked me out," not at all knowing that her puppy knew very well about the text and had planned it himself.

*bark*

"What should I say?" She looked down at Tony, the only one that she could (and very likely the only one she would) consult with her current situation.

*bark*

"Yes?" Tony nodded his head up and down rapidly. "I can't just say yes."

*whine*

"Look boy, I know you like Quinn but… but…" She lifted her eyes up from his big brown ones while trying to come up with some sort of excuse.

*bark*

"What?" Chocolate brown orbs shot back down at her puppy. "I don't have a crush on Quinn!"

*bark*

"I don't!"

*bark*

"I'm not being defensive!"

*bark*

"Tony, stop it!"

"Sweetheart, is everything okay up there?" One of her father's called from down stairs.

Rachel got up and went for the door, yelling, "Yes, daddy. Everything's fine" With him reassured, she slumped down onto her bed, flat on her belly, and buried her face into her hands. Just great, she was having an argument with her puppy about having a crush on Quinn while debating whether or not to go out on a date with her and now her dads thought she was crazy.

She looked up when she felt Tony nudging her with his head. It was a mistake, but she found that out too late when she saw his pout. "Tony," she whined. He responded by licking her across the face. Rachel sighed; she knew she was fighting a losing battle. "Okay, maybe I have a small crush on Quinn."

*bark*

"Okay, maybe it's a big crush." She sat back and grabbed her phone, once again looking at the text. A date? She took a deep breath to steady herself. "Alright, I'll do it." Tony yelped in excitement and started to run laps around Rachel as she called Quinn. At the first ring, she felt butterflies in her stomach and her heart rate accelerated tenfold. At the second, she considered just hanging up. At the third, she knew there was no turning back.

"Hey Rach, what's up?"

"H- Hey Quinn." Her voice was unsteady, which was very unlike her, and she was twirling a few loose strands of her hair around her finger. The two of them had talked countless times before, and even when Quinn was bullying her, Rachel had never been this nervous. And it only made things worse that Quinn was acting as though she hadn't just done something that was going to have a drastic impact on their relationship.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rachel responded, but her labored breathing suggested otherwise. She knew that the blonde must have been able to hear it from the other line, but if she did she made no comment. "I just um… I just wanted to call you back on that text you sent me. And I'm sorry I responded so late. I was just caught off guard and I had no idea what to think and I kind of panicked and…" Her words came out in a flurry, bombarding Quinn and causing her a ton of confusion.

"Rachel, Rachel. Slow down." The brunette complied and ended her rant, quite grateful that Quinn had stopped her from making a fool out of herself. She recomposed herself and took in a big gulp of air. In the time she was gathering herself, Quinn said something that Rachel was certain she heard wrong.

"I'm sorry Quinn. What was that?"

"I said that I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't send you a text." Rachel's heart stopped. She froze, unable to move, speak or even blink. "Rachel, are you okay?" Quinn's worried tone broke Rachel's heart; she swore that she heard it shatter into a million pieces. As much as Quinn cared and loved her, she didn't love her in a way that would prompt her to asking her out. It hurt, and it hurt far worse than Rachel could have imagined. She felt hot tears stinging her eyes. "Rachel? Rachel talk to me," she heard the blonde pleaded.

"But… but… no… You and me… we were… and…" Nothing Rachel was saying was making any sense, but to be honest Quinn was too concerned about her friend to really pay attention to what she was saying. The blonde had no idea what it was that had caused Rachel this much distress and Quinn herself was starting to go frantic. She tried to soothe her and tell her that everything was okay even if she didn't even know if she believed her own words.

"Rachel, please listen to me." Quinn continued to comfort through the brunette's words. "Just tell me what's wrong Rach. Rachel? Rachel?" There was no answer, not even the sound of Rachel's whimpers. Quinn checked her phone to find that Rachel had hung up. "Damnit!" The blonde checked her most recent sent texts to find out what exactly Rachel was talking about. Upon seeing that she had supposedly asked the singer out, she burst back into her room screaming, "Santana, what the fuck! You can't be doing shit like this!"

"Like what? I haven't done anything!" the Latina spat, earning a scoff from Quinn. Santana rolled her eyes. Sure she was a scheming, devious, manipulative bitch but she currently had her fill of humiliating people just by watch Beiste tear Finn a new one for coming to practice with a yellow stained practice uniform and smelling like dog piss. The giant oaf looked so scared that Santana wouldn't have been surprised if he ended up pissing himself. And she totally swore that he looked like he did. On the bright side, no one would have noticed.

"Bullshit!" The blonde went straight up to her and shove her phone in her face, so close that she couldn't actually read what was on the text. "You sent this, didn't you?" Santana held onto Quinn's wrist and pulled it away from her face. A smirk formed on her face as she read the words on the phone.

"No," she laughed out. "But I kinda wish I did," she added. "Maybe if you got some ass, you'd stop being a pain in mine."

"This isn't funny San! You can't play around with people's feelings like this!" Quinn clenched her fists and made an unintelligible sound of frustration and anger before collapsing onto her bed. "Fuck, now she thinks I like her!"

"But you do," Santana stated, matter-of-factly. Quinn didn't answer. "So I don't see what's the big problem; looks to me that you just got yourself a date."

"But I don't!" the blonde pointed out, jumping up into a sitting position. "Rachel freaked out and just… argh!" She reached up for a pillow and pulled it over her face. Quinn screamed into it, unleashing all her frustrations. Santana and Brittany watched on, with the taller girl feeling guilty.

Brittany had thought and hoped that Quinn would take advantage of the situation, but now it looked like she and Tony would have to use Plan B (B for Brittany), but she still needed to convince Santana to go along with it.

Soon Quinn's screams subsided and she got up from her bed. She grabbed her phone and headed out of the room, mumbling," Fuck, now I've got to fix this." She called Rachel. "Come on Rach, pick up. Please, pick up."

At the Berry household…

Rachel had Tony curled up in her arms, her tears wetting his head, when she heard her phone ring. She was so upset that she didn't even bother checking who it was before ignoring the call and shutting off her phone.

*whine*

"I can't answer it, boy. I can't." She sniffled and detached herself from her puppy to get some tissues. After she cleaned herself up a bit, she went back to Tony, who tried to make her feel better by licking her face. It didn't help.

Rachel felt awful. She felt awful for hanging up on Quinn. She felt awful because she knew how much Tony liked Quinn and because she couldn't bear to think of how bad he felt about all this. She felt awful for falling for Quinn and thinking that Quinn might like her back. But she knew that none of that could compare to actually being rejected by Quinn.

Back at the Fabray household…

"San, I think we messed up," Brittany admitted.

"What are you talking about? We didn't do anything wrong?" Santana could already tell that it was Brittany who had sent the text, but she didn't understand the 'we' in all of this.

"Me and Tony," Brittany explained. Santana's mouth fell into an 'o' shape as realization hit her. She was still curious about what her girlfriend and that dog had been discussing earlier and now it was all falling into place. She hated to admit it, but she was liking that dog more and more.

"Ah, I see," she said, nodding her head.

"Yeah… now we have to go to Plan B. Do you think you can help?"

The Latina wanted to object, since she was losing out on precious time, but there was no way she'd ever deny a request from Brittany. Yeah, sure she was whipped, but it was nowhere as bad as how Quinn was whipped when it came to Rachel. And they weren't even together… yet. With Brittany on the job, it'd only be a matter of time before they were. "I'm sure it'll work out better," Santana assured.

"I hope so; this one's my plan," Brittany announced happily.

"Then I'm sure it'll work." Santana didn't even need to hear her girlfriend's plan; she had full confidence in her. Brittany smiled at how her girlfriend believed in her, but that hopeful smile soon turned into a seductive smirk.

"Your parents will be out of town this weekend, won't they?" Santana gulped audibly at Brittany sultry tone. Her lips became dry so she could only answer by nodding slowly. Brittany leaned in, whispering in Santana's ear, "So, we'll have the whole place to ourselves, huh?" Her tongue slipped through her lips and licked the shell of her girlfriend's ear. Santana let out a shaky breath, and in the airy silence between them as Brittany awaited an answer, she could clearly hear the pounding in her chest.

"Uh huh."

"So…" Brittany pulled back, much to Santana's displeasure. "Can we invite Rachel and Quinn?" she asked cheerfully, her sexy attitude being replaced with an innocent one. Santana's jaw dropped. What the fuck? "It's part of my plan. We invite Rachel and Quinn over this weekend. We tie them up and lock them in your closet until they tell each other how they feel… or until the weekend is up."

Santana just stared at her girlfriend, dumbfounded. She normally would have found the idea of Rachel and Quinn being locked in a closet together ironically funny, but right now. Right now she just needed her girlfriend, especially after she tried to seduce her.

"But if they're in my closet, how are we going to-"

"We aren't," Brittany quickly answered, earning a shake of the head from Santana. "Please San."

"Britt, I said I'd help you," she confirmed. "But I am not losing an adult free weekend."

"Tony said you'd say that."

"Oh, please. Like he would-"

"That's why he thought that you should get a reward."

"-actually be able to- Wha? A what?"

"If you go along with this, I'll…" she leaned back in to her previous position and started telling her all the things that she would do to her. Santana's breathing became uneven as her girlfriend whispered filthy things into her ear. Her legs began to part, eagerly awaiting some attention; some sort of touch, from a tongue, fingers, from whatever! She needed relief!

"Fine! I'll do it!" Brittany pulled back, squealing before diving back in and wrapping her arms around Santana. Santana felt like crying. She needed her girlfriend so bad, and that dog was getting in the way. She didn't know if she should hate him for it, or be impressed.

For now she went with the former.


	8. Chapter 8

Quinn was panicked. Rachel wouldn't answer any of her calls, and she knew that the longer she went without fixing this, the worse it would be. She quickly got out of her house and into her car. The blonde knew that leaving Santana and Brittany unsupervised in her house usually meant that they'd have sex on her bed, and yeah she didn't like the idea of having to smell them on her sheets but this was Rachel here.

Quite soon later she was in front of Rachel's house in record time. Quinn may have broken a few laws and such, but she was here and that's all that was important now. She ran towards the front door, almost forgetting to lock her car and rang the bell. She waited and every second that passed by felt like a lifetime.

The door swung open revealing Hiram Berry. Quinn put on a fake smile, feigning ignorance about the distress that his daughter was currently going through. "Hi, Mr. Berry. Is Rachel home?"

"She is… but I'm afraid that she's quite upset about something and asked to be left alone for a while." Quinn nodded and thought about asking if she could go up and see if she could make her feel better. She decided not to, realizing that they'd probably ask Rachel's permission first and that they were currently unaware that she was the cause of his daughter's current mood.

The blonde bid her farewells and once the door was shut rounded the house to Rachel's window. What she was thinking right now was kind of stupid. There was a tree in the backyard that had a sturdy looking branch reaching out to Rachel's bedroom window. She didn't actually know how strong the tree was, but it was currently Quinn's only way to get to the singer. Unless she wanted to chance scaling the side of the house, which… yeah, wasn't going to happen.

She was really glad that she had decided to wear sneakers and jeans. Despite no longer being on the Cheerios and having to perform their insane workout regimen day in and day out, Quinn was still in really good shape so it would't take her long to ascend the trunk of the tree. It's only when she's up there that she sees a few flaws in her plan.

The branch was just barely a few inches short of reaching the house, and the far side was obviously not strong enough to carry her weight. Trying to balance on the branch is out of the question, not that Quinn would have tried that in the first place. She tossed a leg over branch, straddling it and started to slowly inch herself closer to Rachel's window.

She's not even near the edge yet but she can see that with the way she's going at it, she'll probably end up killing herself before getting on top of Rachel's house. Quinn knows that must be insane, but she's already up here so she might as well go for it. Slowly and carefully, she inches closer until she has one foot on Rachel's house and then the other.

Her heart's accelerating, and she takes a few deep breathes to calm herself down. She's not very successful so she decides to just continue with the plan. With one hand she pushes on the branch that she's sitting on, and with the other she tugs on a weaker one above her. With luck, she'll be able to get herself into a standing position and walk over to Rachel's window.

It's not working and she can feel the weaker branch breaking as she tries to hoist herself up with it. She tries a different method and tosses one leg over the other, twisting the other one around so that she can push herself up rather than pull. Now she's looking at the ground and she feels a bit scared; one false move and she'll be seeing it up close.

She's in an awkward position, her legs pressed firm at the edge of the house, the majority of her body being suspended in the air while her arms cling on the branch that she was previous sitting on. She shouldn't feel this nervous since she's been up this high before when she was cheerleading, but this time there's no one down there to catch her if she falls.

The blonde tries to shift her body so that she's lying flat on the branch rather than holding onto the side of it, but she starts losing her footing and resumes her previous position. She tries to push herself up, like she originally planned, but with the weird angle she only causes her body more stress than progress.

She's stuck.

She's stuck in a tree all because someone had to blab about her biggest secret, and then all this stuff about her supposedly asking Rachel out and then Rachel calling her to answer about her supposed asking out and then… Quinn didn't even know anymore. She didn't know if Rachel liked the idea of being asked out by her, if she hated it, or if she thought it was just a prank or whatever! Everything was just a big mess right now.

Inside…

Rachel was sitting cross-legged, Tony in her lap, watching whatever cheesy chick flick she could find on TV. She was doing better since she had learned that Quinn hadn't been the one to send that text, well at the very least she had stopped crying. But with what she was currently watching, she'd probably start up again soon.

It was just her luck that she wound up watching a film that made her think of Quinn. One of the main characters was even named Rachel and the other Luce. It all fit so perfectly especially with the lily that made Rachel think back to the gardenia that she had advised Finn to get for Quinn's corsage during junior prom. The flower meant secret love; she had known that. She had known that, but she had never thought about it.

She had never thought about how her subconscious had picked out that flower; how part of her had secretly loved Quinn and known that a gardenia would perfectly compliment Quinn's lovely features. It only made her wonder how long she had had these feelings.

She almost felt as though the world were mocking her, giving her a glimpse of the life she could have. And oh, how she wanted it. She just wanted to run up into Quinn's arm; have the blonde lift her up, spin her in the air and then kiss her on the lips as she brought her back down. She sighed, knowing that that was just a distance fantasy.

Part of her wanted to hate Quinn. Hate her for being this perfect girl that she could fall head over heels in love with. She could do it of course, and when her dad had come in a while ago telling her that Quinn had stopped by, Rachel nearly jumped out of her bed to chase after the blonde. But she knew that those kinds of actions would do more harm than good.

She looked down when she felt Tony shift around in her lap. His fur was a bit wet from soaking up her tears. Rachel felt bad about using him as a tissue, but Tony didn't mind so long as he could make his mama feel better. And it was kind of his fault in the first place anyway. So he'd cuddle into her and let her squeeze him until he couldn't breathe.

He felt really bad. All he wanted was to make Rachel and Quinn happy and get them together. But now Rachel was sad and was on the verge of crying again, and he didn't even know about Quinn. She might even be worse than Rachel was right now. He felt worse at the thought.

Tony had no idea what he had gotten himself into when he embarked on this mission, and his confidence in his triumph was starting to drop. But the thought of how things would become if he didn't continue spurred him on. He'd gotten this far and at the very least he'd have to fix the damaged that he had done.

Suddenly, using his heightened hearing, Tony heard something outside. He craned his head to see, but found nothing. It could have been anything, but Tony was curious. He nudged Rachel. She didn't respond, too entranced by the film on the screen. She was already hugging him tighter, teas forming in her eyes as the on-screen Rachel made her confession.

*bark*

He caught her attention. She looked down and loosened her hold, misinterpreting his bark as one of discomfort. Tony knew then that she was really in a bad way since she usually understood him better.

*bark*

This time he used his nose to point towards the window. Rachel looked at him with an arched brow and followed his gaze. She looked at the window and found nothing of significance, causing her some confusion. "Do you want to go to the window, boy?" she asked unsurely.

*bark*

Rachel scooted towards the window, swinging her legs off her bed when she reached the edge. She sat down on her window seat and placed Tony down in front of her so that he could peer outside. The view outside was a nice change of pace to seeing a heartbreaking love story. Her eyes scanned her backyard until falling on a blonde that was hanging in between the tree in her backyard and her house.

Her eyes went wide when she noticed that it was Quinn. She opened the window and pulled Tony back, so that he couldn't fall out. "Quinn, what are you doing?" she shrieked. Startled by the singer's voice, Quinn lost her footing and her body fell. The momentum of her lower half falling caused her to lose her grip on the branch. "Quinn!" Rachel screamed as she saw Quinn fall flat on her back. "Oh my God!"

Rachel darted out of her room, ignoring her fathers' questioning as she made her way to the blonde that had just fallen out the in her backyard as her puppy vainly tried to chase after. Quinn was completely out but Rachel could still hear her breathing and her heart beating when she placed her ear on her chest.

*whine*

She turned to find Tony, worried staring at Quinn. "Tony, go get daddy and dad. Tell them that Quinn's hurt." Tony complied, retreating back into the house. "You'll be okay Quinn, you'll be okay," she assured the unconscious girl.

Later…

When Quinn awoke, her body hurt. Her head hurt, her back hurt, but mostly her butt her. She could barely remember what had happened to her. She opened her eyes slowly as she adjusted to the light. There was a blurry image of a girl in her view, and there seemed to be a halo around her head. "Are you an angel?" she asked weakly.

The heavenly figure shook her head and let out a weak laugh. "No, Quinn." Her voice and laughter were just as angelic as her beautiful face. Quinn was sure that this angel could easily make her feel better with just a simple touch. The angel leaned in closer, her features coming into better focus. She tucked a loose strand of Quinn's hair behind her ear, and now the blonde noticed who this girl was.

"Oh Rachel, my angel." Quinn tried to get up, but the pain she felt throughout her body caused her to fall back onto the bed. "Ow."

"Quinn, you fell out of a tree and hit your head," she explained. "And it looks like you're a bit delirious." The blonde tried to shake her head, but even that small motion caused her some pain. "I want you to rest, okay? Just sleep."

"But I need to talk to you," Quinn pleaded. She tried to get up again, only to fall back down with a groan.

"We can talk later," Rachel answered, although she didn't have much intent in talking to Quinn about this whole thing, or at least not any time soon. She got off the bed and squatted down to the puppy in the room that Quinn hadn't noticed earlier. "Watch Quinn, okay boy? If she needs anything, come find me. I'll be downstairs preparing some soup."

"Wait," Quinn tried once more, reaching out. But it was too late and she was already gone and running down the stairs. "Tony go get Rachel," she pleaded to the golden puppy. Tony quickly made chase; only slowing down so that he could take his time descending the stairs. It took him a while but he was down, Tony ran as fast as he could towards Rachel. She was busily working on Quinn's soup. He went up to her and started doing laps around her.

*bark bark*

"Did Quinn send you?" she asked, knowingly. Tony's lack of an answer was enough to assure her that the blonde did in fact request that her puppy retrieve her. She supposed that she'd have to face this sooner or later. "Okay," she relented. "Let me just finish up her soup." It wasn't exactly what Tony wanted, but it was sufficient so Tony plopped himself down and waited.

When Rachel was done, she placed the soup in a bowl onto of a tray and started making her way towards the guest room where Quinn was. She was going only as fast as Tony could so he climbed the steps as fast as he could. In record time, well at least Tony thought so, he got to the top and made his way to the still open door where Quinn lie.

Rachel pushed it open, presenting the soup. "Hey Quinn, I brought you…" she trailed off when she saw that the blonde was fast asleep. The brunette placed the tray on top of the nightstand and sat down next to Quinn. She ran her fingers through her golden locks as she stared down at her lovingly. The blonde whimpered at her touch, causing a small genuine smile to form on Rachel's face. Rachel leaned in and placed a kiss on Quinn's forehead. "Goodnight Quinn… I love you."


	9. Chapter 9

It was Wednesday when Quinn next woke. She still felt pain throughout her body, but it was far less severe than the day prior. Today she was able to get to an upright position without much difficulty. And she had the most wonderful dream the previous night. Rachel had kissed her goodnight and even said those three little words that Quinn had being dying to hear for so long. And afterwards the tiny brunette curled up in bed with her.

But it was just a dream and she knew that, or at least she was sure it was. And the fact that she woke in the guestroom of Rachel's house didn't help her convictions at all. Though the blonde knew why she was here. She remembered trying to climb into Rachel's bedroom window and then falling when Rachel called out to her.

She stretched a bit, causing her some minor discomfort and then made her way to Rachel's room. The door was closed. Not wanting to just barge in she knocked, calling, "Rachel?" No response. "Rachel, its Quinn. Can I come in?" She bit down on her lower lip. "Rachel?" she tried again weakly, opening the door just a crack. Instead of seeing the brunette in bed, Quinn only saw Tony curled up in the middle. She went in further, looking around for the singer.

There was no sign of her. Rachel was gone. Quinn couldn't help but think that her precious little shiny star had been so eager to get away from her that she darted out of the house as soon as she woke up. But then the bathroom door swung open, revealing Rachel wrapping herself up in a towel. Hazel eyes raked over her entire body, memorizing inch after inch the perfectly tan and tone body that Quinn already knew so well. Only this time she had no clothes on.

Rachel was too busy adjusting her towel of even notice the blonde's presence. So when brown orbs finally looked up the singer shrieked, waking up her puppy and nearly dropping her towel and exposing herself fully. "Quinn, you can't just barge in here like that!" The blonde more saw rather than heard the singer speak. Her mouth was dry and right now Rachel wasn't the only one who was wet.

She tentatively licked her lips at the most delicious sight that she had seen in a long time. Those luscious lips kept moving, but no words reached Quinn's ears. All she could think of were all of Rachel's lovely curves, and all she wanted to do was to rip that towel off her body. But she couldn't go out and do that, so she was mildly pleased to find that she didn't have the strength to move her body. Ravishing Rachel right then and there probably wouldn't be the best way to tell her how she felt, especially not with Tony in the room.

The golden puppy in question had seen her reaction to seeing his mama like this. A new plan instantly formed in his mind. He leaped off his comfortable spot in Rachel's bed and ran up to the brunette. Once Tony was in front of her, he jumped up and bit down on her towel. It fell down with him, pooling around Rachel's feet.

Rachel shrieked again, making to cover herself up and barely noticing how Quinn's face was now a deep shade of pink and how her hazel eyes had become dark. The blonde stared unabashedly. Not that she could have done much of anything else even she wanted to; her brain wasn't functioning well enough to process much more than Rachel's small but perky breasts and the freshly trimmed patch of curls down there.

"Quinn get out!" She came back to her senses upon hearing that voice ring through her ears. The blonde darted out the door, closing it behind her. She then collapsed; her back against Rachel's door and her knew bent in front of her. Quinn was finally able to breathe, not even aware that she had been holding her breath before.

She brought her hands together in front of her, palm to palm, and closed her eyes. "Dear God, thank you for sharing with me your most perfect angel, Rachel Berry, in all her naked glory. Amen." She paused and then added, "And thank you for Tony as well." Quinn really loved Tony right now; it was almost as if he had been reading her mind in there. She made a mental note to give him a big kiss and hug the next time she had the chance.

Quinn sat there for a while, her head resting on the door. She knew that Rachel was trapped inside. And unless she was willing to risk climbing out the window, which Quinn highly doubted, then they'd have to talk about all this. She decided to use the time she had to brace herself for any and all possible outcomes.

Inside Rachel was doing much of the same. She hadn't made much effort to get changed; her mind was still reeling from what she saw… or at least what she thought she saw. She had been in a panic. She could have been seeing things. She must have been seeing things. She must have been seeing what she wanted to see. The singer couldn't think of another reason to explain why she saw what looked to be arousal in Quinn's eyes.

The last thing Rachel needed right now was false hope. It would be hard enough to just be Quinn's friend now that she had realized her true feeling for the blonde. She couldn't let herself be fooled once more that Quinn might feel the same. Rachel was sure that she wouldn't be able to bear that pain a second time. And at the same time she couldn't image how her life would be without Quinn in it.

She couldn't stay in her room or at least not that long, not if she were to planning on attending school today. And she had to attend school if she didn't want to draw the attention of her fathers. She looked over to her puppy, both upset that he had disrobe her in front or Quinn and desperately hoping that he could give her a solution to her problem.

But all Tony was doing was looking back between her and the door. His tail was wagging impatiently, as he eagerly waited for the moment that Rachel would open the door and Quinn would reenter the room. Rachel wasn't sure why she had expected anything else; Tony loved the two of them together and Rachel always felt compelled to do anything to make him happy.

And to make matters worse, he was pouting. Rachel really needed to build some sort of immunity to that. But right now she didn't have much of a choice. Rachel got up from the bed, wrapping her towel more securely around her. She went to the door and reached for the knob, but suddenly stopped. She spun around to Tony. "Don't do that again," she told him.

*whine*

Tony hung his head in shame. Rachel squatted down and brought a hand to his face. She lifted his head up so that he would look her in the eye. "I'm not mad at you, Tony. But you can't do that, okay?" He nodded his head, and she rewarded him a kiss on his head. She took a deep and opened the door.

Quinn, who was leaning against the door, fell back. Her head landed directly between Rachel's legs. She gulped, swallowing a lump in her throat. Rachel quickly hid the redness of her cheeks with her hands and retreated to her bed. Quinn scrambled to her feet, but made no move to approach the brunette. She stood awkwardly right beside the doorway.

Both had issues with speaking first. They waited in an uneasy silence. Tony grew tired and walked over to Quinn. He bit down on the bottom of her jean leg and tugged in the direction of the bed. He didn't have the strength to actually move her, but knew that Quinn wouldn't let him strain himself. She went along and sat down on the bed, leaving adequate between herself and Rachel. The brunette scooped up her puppy and placed him in the empty space. He nudged both of them on their sides, his eyes wide and needy.

"Quinn, I-"

"Rach, I-"

They spoke at the same time.

"You can go first."

"You go first."

Once again they were in synch, and after they were silent again. Tony became upset, but he noticed that the pair seemed to be a lot less worried about speaking to each other. They were smiling, if only shyly. Rachel lifted him up and placed him on her lap so that she could scoot closer to Quinn. Her chest was heaving, but she was ready.

"Quinn, I know that we don't… that we don't exactly feel the same about each other," she said quietly. "Or at least not anymore." She felt a stinging in her heart as the words escaped her lips. It was getting harder and harder for her to breathe. But she kept her eyes fixated on Quinn, watching her every reaction. Quinn's hazel eyes were soft and there wasn't a hint of bitterness. Rachel saw it as a good sign. "But I still want to be friends."

Hot tears poured from her eyes and Quinn's hand instantly shot up to wipe them away. "Rachel don't cry," she pleaded. She wrapped her free hand around the smaller girl and pulled her in close but made sure not to squish the puppy between them. She rubbed soothing circles on Rachel's back as the brunette nestled her head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," the singer sobbed. "I'm just… I just… I don't." Quinn shushed, and just held her. They stayed like that for a bit with Rachel crying into Quinn's shoulder. It was for things like this that Rachel couldn't just let Quinn go. The blonde was always there when she needed her and was always so supportive. She wasn't sure how many more moments like this she'd have so she let this moment go on for as long as she could.

When her sobbing subsided, Quinn pulled back and gently wiped away any stray tears. "Rachel… I care about you… a lot." She paused to take a breath. "And you care about me too, right?" She mentally berated herself for not just saying what she had wanted to say. The blonde regretted her words even more when she saw the worried expression on Rachel's face.

"Of course I do, you know that," she replied in a disbelieving tone. Rachel couldn't believe that Quinn would actually question how much important she was to her. "You know that I…" She couldn't say it; not now, not like this. She felt wrong to say it.

"I love you too." Rachel stilled, Quinn taking hold of her hand and placing it on her chest. She could feel the blonde's heart racing as fast as her own. "That's what you're worried about, right? That I don't love you?" Rachel didn't answer… couldn't, but her features slowly transformed from a frown to a soft smile. "I should have said it earlier, and I should have really asked you out instead of… whatever happened." She stopped once more to check on Rachel. "But if you'd like… we could… you know?" She stumbled on her words while she fiddled with the hem of her shirt.

"Quinn, are you asking me out?" The taller girl stopped babbling and nodded slightly. "I'd love to… Friday?" she asked uncertainly, receiving another nod. "Okay, great." She looked down at herself, almost forgetting that she was still clad in only a towel. "Uh, could you…" she gestured to her attire. Quinn got the hint and left for the guest room across the hall. Once the door was closed, Rachel lifted Tony up and squeezed him tightly. "Can you believe it boy? Thank you, boy. Thank you for never giving up."

Inside the guest room, Quinn dropped onto the bed there with a lopsided smile on her face. She was sure that she had a guardian angel looking over her. There was nothing else she could think of that could explain how everything could work out after… after well everything. Quinn had long accepted the role of the best friend; she knew that their history would make a relationship. Yet here they were; a few days away from a date. A real date.

The door was wide open and Rachel entered the room once she was changed. She sat down next to her, with Tony at their feet, and placed a hand on her thigh. Quinn tilted her head towards the singer, the goofy grin on her face widening. "Okay, so I'm going to school now." The blonde bounced up into a sitting position.

"All right, just give me a sec to get ready." She jumped up but stopped when she felt Rachel's hand wrapped around her wrist. "Something wrong?" she asked, sitting back down.

"No, but I'd feel better if you stayed here," she replied. Quinn opened her mouth to respond, but was quickly cut off. "You hurt yourself pretty bad yesterday, and I was so scared. I just want you to rest," she requested. "My dads' even talked to your mom about it and she agreed that you should take the day off. And I'm so sorry for screaming like that. You wouldn't have gotten hurt if I hadn't."

"Hey, it's okay," Quinn assured, taking Rachel's hands in hers. "I fine," but Rachel didn't look too convinced. "But if it's that important I'll stay here and hang out with Tony, but I'm going to stay in your room." Rachel smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

*whine*

They looked down simultaneously at Tony. "Aw, you want a kiss too?" Quinn asked, picking him up and planting kiss on the left side of his face while Rachel planted one on the right. The got up and got settled in Rachel's room. "All right, boy. Say goodbye to mama."

*bark*

Rachel hugged them both, receiving kiss on the cheek from Quinn before leaving. "I'll see you later. Love you both." She blew kiss to them and descended the stairs. Rachel was a step outside the house when she heard footsteps behind her. She spun around only to soon find Quinn's lips on her cheek. Her face flushed instantly. She smiled nervously as she tried to gesture to her car. "I should uh…"

"Yeah."


	10. Chapter 10

Quinn watched Rachel get in her car make her way to school. She waited there until the brunette was out of view to go back upstairs to Tony. The golden puppy was outside the singer's room. He was flat on his bottom, waiting patiently. The blonde scooped him up in her arms and entered Rachel's room. "We have the whole day to ourselves, boy. So what do you want to do?"

He scrunched his nose up in thought; an entire day with Quinn rather than Rachel. He'd miss his mama of course, but now he had the chance to make for lost time with Quinn. But what to do? He had so many ideas, but so little time. But first things first, he was hungry. With a bark he darted downstairs, the blonde right behind him.

Tony raced to the kitchen, using his nose to find the non-vegetarian dog food. It was just off in the corner. Quinn walked over to him to see the golden puppy nudging the giant bag with his head. She giggled at his actions and then went to get his bowl. She laid it down in front of him and poured a good helping for his breakfast. As she expected, Tony quickly dug in.

"Stay here, boy. I'll be right back." She only received a garbled bark in response. Quinn casually strolled upstairs and up to Rachel's room. A smile graced her face just by entering its threshold. This stupid little prank of Santana's (or so she thought) had worked out far better than she could have ever hoped for, but despite that Quinn had imagined something a bit more romantic for when she finally told Rachel how she felt.

There were supposed to be flowers (gardenias in particular) and shy smiles under the night sky with the stars watching down on them. There would only be tears of joy as she confessed her profuse love for the singer and Rachel would smoother her with a kiss to show that the feelings were and had always been mutual. Nothing but the best for Rachel, and Quinn had to make it up to her.

Quinn descended the stairs as she thought up ideas on how to surprise Rachel when she got back home. She approached Tony, who was finishing up his meal, and squatted down in front of him. "Hey boy, I was thinking. We should have some fun for a bit, but after maybe you could help me with a little something for Rachel," she suggested. "What do you say?"

*bark bark*

"I knew I could count on you. Okay, let's go!"

At school…

Santana watched as her girlfriend paced back and forth in front of her. They had heard about Quinn's accident. Falling out of a tree; Santana wanted laugh, but Brittany was already upset with her and was worried. As such Santana had to be worried too. But she really wasn't; she knew that Q could take a fall like that, but if she didn't act the part then she'd suffer later.

And sure Santana could survive without having sex with her girlfriend all the time, but Brittany wasn't playing fair. Her head was starting to spin from having to watch Brittany's repeated movements. Brittany refused to move from their spot, in front of Quinn's locker, until they knew for sure that she was okay. Santana had tried calling but received no answer. She assumed that Quinn couldn't hear her phone or she was still accusing her of sending that text. She would have tried Rachel, but wouldn't make herself go through the torture of hearing her go on one of her rants.

A few minutes later they saw Rachel down the hall with no Quinn in tow. Brittany immediately sprinted towards her, Santana lazily following after. "Where's Quinn? Is she okay?" she asked frantically.

"Brittany, Quinn's fine. She's resting at my place," the singer answered. Brittany sighed out in relief. Once assured that Brittany would be fine Rachel departed for class. "I'll see you later." The pair watched her leave and round a corner. Brittany waited until the pint sized diva was out of sight to speak.

"We need to be more careful, San. Can't let Q hurt herself like that," she said. Santana held back a scoff and whatever thoughts her mind initially raced to. She wasn't even part of this plot to get Q and Berry together when Quinn decided that falling out of a tree would be the perfect way to grab Rachel's attention. She could only nod and hope that the two of them could just make out so she could have some peace and quiet with Britt (minus the peace and quiet, since sex with Britt was… yeah).

"So I think we should use the silk ties instead of handcuffs," Brittany suggested. Okay, Santana could deal with that. "And we should give leave them some snacks so they can eat without us having to risk them getting out." That's fine too. "And we should probably move your shoes out of your closet so we can put in some chairs if they want to sit down." Wait what? "And not the wooden ones, but the comfy ones. And…" Oh, this would definitely be a long weekend.

Rachel's house…

Tony darted back and forth as Quinn gave chase. They were playing tag in Rachel's backyard. Frankly, he thought it was kind of unfair since he only had full use of three of his legs, but Quinn even the odds by crawling on her hands and knees. Quinn was surprisingly fast on all fours, but Tony's experience allowed him to run circles around her, literarily.

Round and round her ran, confident that she's never catch him. On a whim, Tony sped in the direction of the tree that Quinn had fallen out of. He ran around it, expecting Quinn to follow, but instead the blonde awaited him and capture him in a hug after his first lap. He placed him on his back, tickling his sides in victory. She then got up on her feet and ran off, "Catch me if you can!"

Cheater.

Back at school…

On her way to class, Rachel passed by Finn's locker. It wasn't her intent to run into her ex, but it was the quickest route. The tall boy was still trying to remove the stink of his locker, although the air fresheners he was using only mixed and created a far more foul odor. Normally Rachel would feel sympathetic, but she couldn't feel sorry for him after he locked poor Tony in that locker.

Squeezing his nose shut with his thumb and forefinger, Finn held the can in his other hand and sprayed a dangerous amount of the fumes onto every inch of his locker. Within seconds he emptied its contents and discarded the spray can onto the floor. He buried his face into his locker to take a sniff only to violently recoil. He turned to the side bent forward; his hands on his now bent knees to hold himself up, looking close to vomiting.

The stench was strong but thankfully didn't travel very far. Keeping a wide berth and covering her nose was enough to avoid the terrible smell. Sadly Rachel's luck wasn't good enough for her to go unnoticed by the quarterback. Just a single glance up from his hunched over state allowed him to spot the tiny singer. She quickened her pace as he got to an upright position, chasing after her and calling out, "Hey, Rachel!"

"I have nothing to say to you Finn," she said simply. "I'm just trying to get to class." Even with lengthen strides Rachel knew that she couldn't escape Finn due to his height advantage. Within moments, she felt a hand on her shoulder, halting her movement and spinning her around. She came face to face with a nauseated looking Finn Hudson. He looked awful, really awful. "You should see the nurse, Finn," she told him, both as an excuse to get him away and because he probably needed it. He shook his head; the simple action seemingly making him dizzy.

"I'm fine. Besides we need to talk about us."

"Us?" Rachel questioned incredulously. "Finn, there is no more us. And…" she trailed off momentarily. Saying what she wanted to say could have him back off or more likely it would cause him a temper tantrum, but it would be better for her to say it sooner rather than later. "I have a date… Friday."

He looked sickened at the words… or maybe just sick because the next second he spun around and emptied the contents of his stomach onto the floor only inches away from the feet of one Sue Sylvester. "Disgusting," she spat. "Clean this up, Hudson. And after you're done report to my office." Rachel used the opportunity to escape, silently thanking the cheerleading coach.

Back at Rachel's house…

With his nose to the floor, Tony sniffed for any trace of Quinn's scent. The current game that he was playing with Quinn was hide and seek. The golden puppy was sure that his acute sense of smell would guarantee his victory.

The only problem, Quinn's scent was everywhere. It still lingered on his doggy bowl, there were traces of it on the couch in the living room, and Tony could even smell some coming from the laundry room. Finding Quinn proved to be far more difficult that he could have ever imaged. He wondered how often Quinn had been to Rachel's house before his arrival; he would guess that it was fairly often.

After finishing the first floor, Tony found no definite sign of Quinn. It was possible that she was behind some of the closed doors, but Quinn told him that she wouldn't do that since he couldn't open them. He continued his search upstairs.

Tony entered Rachel's room and instantly got a strong whiff of Quinn's scent. It wasn't surprising to him that he'd find an abundance of her aroma in this room but instinct told him that he was about to win. He looked around bookshelves and dressers and then under the bed. She wasn't there. Tony was about to exit the room when he noticed that the closet door was slightly ajar.

With careful, quiet steps he approached the closet. He placed his nose at the door and with a swift movement opened it. Inside, he found Quinn nuzzling into one of the many dresses Rachel had hanging there. She quickly got into an upright position when she saw him and hid a lacy piece of material behind her back.

"Oh, hey boy. You found me," she said. "Let's get out of here." Quinn gently nudged him out of the closet. "What do you want to play next?"

Back at school…

Lunch. Rachel was trying to eat her lunch, but was currently being bombarded with questions from Brittany regarding Quinn and the events the previous day. She wouldn't have minded Brittany's inquiries, but she seemed to be more interested in things other than Quinn's well-being. It made her nervous.

Santana had on occasion made jokes about the nature of Rachel and Quinn's relationship. At the time Rachel didn't make much of it, other than the few times she wondered how things would be if she and Quinn were in fact girlfriends. She'd have to admit that even then, without the feelings that she had now discovered, that the idea of being with the blonde was quite appealing.

Rachel had gotten used to the teasing which was in a far more friendly nature than what she had to endure before they were friends. But now that Rachel actually liked Quinn more than a friend and learned that Quinn her back and the fact that the two of them were going on a date, any implication like the ones Brittany were giving made Rachel feel uneasy.

Rachel had always been open with her sexuality, but even then she was nowhere near ready to tell everyone that she had a date with a girl, an amazingly perfect girl like Quinn no less. Mostly it was due to a fear of their relationship not working out. Until the two of them went steady, Rachel would feel more comfortable if they didn't tell anyone… at least not without talking about it first.

And besides it wasn't entirely up to Rachel to tell people about them, so she gave vague answers, only telling as much as was needed. Brittany was obviously not pleased and the rest of the Glee Club (minus Finn, who was currently missing), who were fully invested in the conversation, were quite curious about the whole situation. Rachel quickly finished up and left the cafeteria.

As she left, Brittany pulled Santana off to the side. "See, I told you nothing happened."

Even Later…

The day was done and Rachel was exhausted. If she knew at the beginning of the day that she'd miss Quinn and Tony this much she probably would have just stayed home with them and made sure to take good care of Quinn; they surely couldn't go out on a date if Quinn happened to get a head injury from her fall.

She opened the to her house to find Tony sitting down in front of him, patiently waiting for her return. Rachel quirked an eyebrow and squatted down, wondering where Quinn was and mildly worrying that Quinn wasn't doing too well. But then she noticed the light green ribbon wrapped around Tony's neck. "What's this?" she questioned, inspecting the ribbon that so resembled the one that was part of Quinn's corsage during junior prom. She found a small folded up piece of paper and pulled it out from between the ribbon and Tony's fur.

Upstairs. Your room. I have a surprise for you.

Quinn


	11. Chapter 11

Rachel couldn't quite believe it; a surprise, a surprise for her. She was a bit concerned about Quinn exerting herself but still she couldn't help but image what awaited her up the stairs. The brunette scooped Tony up and ascended the stairs. It had been so long since someone did something like this for her, she couldn't wait.

Step by tentative step, she took. The anticipation was killing her, but all the same she didn't want to seem too eager to see what Quinn had done for her. Once at the her door, Rachel wondered if she should knock first but thought against it since the idea of needing permission to enter her own room seemed silly. She reached for the knob and opened the door a crack.

In a second Quinn was before her, blocking off any view of what awaited her within her room. Her short choppy hair was tied in a messy ponytail and she looked to be dressed in a pair of Rachel's sweats and a tank top. "Hey, you're home," she said, sounding slightly out of breathe as she spotted the singer. "Just give me one sec," she requested, disappearing back into the room and shutting the door, leaving a bewildered Rachel behind.

*bark?*

Rachel looked down at her puppy. Apparently he was a bit confused as well. "Quinn?" she called, receiving no reply. "Quinn, it's okay if you're not done; you should be resting anyway." Rachel pressed her ear to the door, hearing muttered prayers on the other side. "Really Quinn, it's the thought that counts and I'm sure I'll love it."

*bark*

Rachel smiled, squeezing Tony affectionately. "Just a few more seconds, Rach!" Rachel sighed, but let Quinn have her way. Either way, she'd certainly make sure that Quinn stay in bed for the rest of the afternoon. Quinn's well-being was far more important than some surprise and it would be quite the travesty if their date were to be cancelled because Quinn refused to take care of herself. She soon heard the doorknob turning and waited until Quinn was in front of her again. "Hey," she said shyly.

"Hi," Rachel replied in a similarly soft tone. Her eyes drifted between her trembling feet, and Quinn's face and the few loose strands of blonde hair that fell down to her cheek. "So can I see my surprise?" she asked, suppressing her eagerness.

"Oh, right." Quinn opened the door wider and stepped aside, allowing Rachel to walk past her. Rachel walked slowly, carefully eyeing her room. She had expected to see what Quinn had planned for her the moment she stepped in, but her room was mostly the same as she left it. The only thing that was out of place was the stack of pillows and extra quilts that was blocking off light from her window. She frowned but said nothing so as not to make Quinn feel bad. "Just lay on your bed," Quinn told her. "And close your eyes."

Rachel shook her head in amusement but did as told, climbing on top of her bed and gently placing Tony down beside her. "Okay, I'm ready," she announced, her body humming with excitement. Quinn shut off the light and made her way to the bed. Rachel felt a dip in her bed and a hand interlacing with her own before hearing Quinn groan.

"No, no, no," she whined.

"Quinn, are you okay?" Rachel asked, jumping up from where she lay.

"No, no, no," Quinn continued, shaking her head which she had now buried in her hands. She went on with incoherent mutterings, nothing that Rachel could make any sense of. She tossed a leg over the blonde and gently gripped onto Quinn's forearms, stilling her movements as she whispered in her ear. On her other side Tony slowly approached, nuzzling into her.

"It's okay Quinn, it's okay," Rachel cooed.

"No, it's not," Quinn whined. "I wanted to do something special for you, but I didn't even think it through enough to do it right," she said, her eyes flickering past Rachel's concerned gaze to stare at the ceiling. She frowned and tried to turn to her side so she didn't have to look Rachel in the eye, until she finally processed that the brunette was straddling her waist and thus was preventing such movement. She settled for turning her head to the side.

Quinn felt Rachel shift on top of her and then soft lips upon her cheek. She felt another kiss, and then a few more, the last one landing on the corner of her mouth. One of Rachel's dainty hands slipped in under her other cheek, cupping it, and slowly turning her head until they were facing each other once more.

"I'm sorry, Rachel. I just thought it would be something that you'd like, I didn't think about whether or not it would work," she admitted embarrassedly. She was then roughly nudged by Tony.

*bark bark*

A giggle escaped Quinn's lips, her lips curving into a weak smile. A stronger, but similar one also formed on Rachel's face. "Looks like someone disagrees," she said, scooping Tony up and cradling him in her arms. "Right, boy? It was your idea too?" she cooed, scratching his stomach.

*bark bark*

"See?" Rachel said, pointedly. "It wasn't completely your idea, so you shouldn't take full blame." She set Tony back down. Quinn only huffed in response. She appreciated how Tony was trying to make her feel better, but it had been her idea and it was her fault that she hadn't planned it properly. "Besides," Rachel added, "You hit your head the other day, so it's okay if you weren't thinking clearly," she teased.

Quinn pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're mean."

"And you're cute," Rachel replied, giggling. Quinn relaxed below her. It was hard for the blonde to be upset whenever she heard that angelic laugh. She unfolded her arms from over her chest, her hands falling on top of Rachel's thighs. Quinn idly played with the hem of Rachel's skirt. "So… what was this little surprise you had planned anyway?" She watched as Quinn bit down on her lower lip, and assumed that the blonde was too embarrassed about the whole thing and didn't want to talk about it at all. "Please tell me. I'm sure I'll love it," she assured.

"You will… I think, but I don't want to ruin it." Rachel's brow furrowed and her nose scrunched up. Quinn couldn't help but giggle, thinking that Rachel looked really cute. "It should still be able to work," she explained. "Just not now. But you'll be able to see it before you go to sleep… I hope."

"Well in that case, maybe you should sleep over so can see my reaction," Rachel suggested.

*bark*

"Tony would like it if you stayed," she added as the puppy in question jumped onto Quinn's stomach. He rolled over onto his back, offering his belly for Quinn to scratch. "Please Quinn," Rachel said, sticking her lower lip out in a way she knew Quinn couldn't resist. She resisted the urge to smile when Tony decided to help her out by letting out tiny whimpering sounds.

"You're not being fair."

Rachel scoffed. "Don't pretend like you don't want to stay here with me."

At The Lopez Residence…

Santana knew that Brittany would want them to start preparing for the weekend soon, but she just didn't know how soon. Needless to say, she was a bit disappointed to be starting so soon. On the bright side, the sooner they started the sooner they'd finish. It was with that thought in mind that she carried her shoes and clothes over to the guestroom closet.

With a fairly well off living, Santana's closet was pretty big. It wasn't exactly walk-in closet big but it was big. Even so, it wasn't big enough to fit Quinn, Rachel and those chairs that Brittany insisted they bring up from the living room. Santana still didn't know how her girlfriend was planning on bringing them up here; those things weighed a ton.

She got to her close and stuffed her things inside before going back to her room. She sighed when she eyed her own closet, only half her clothes were gone. Santana decided to forget about it, grabbing whatever else would fit in the closet across the hall. If Quinn and Berry would have to deal with a bit of her clothes then so be it. It's not like it was really her problem.

With that done, Santana went downstairs where Brittany was thinking up a way to get the armchairs upstairs. When she got there she found her girlfriend settled on the couch. Her elbows were on legs, arms straight up with her head propped on her hands. She was staring straight in front of her at the two armchairs with narrowed eyes.

Santana knew that she was deep in thought, probably to point of blocking everything else out. She would never say it aloud, but she always loved whenever Brittany got like this. Her brow would knit together and her nose would crinkle up ever so slightly. It was a cute look for her girlfriend, although Santana undoubtedly preferred it when her girlfriend was sexy, which frankly was most of the time.

Santana walked around the couch, settled down next to her girlfriend. "Hey babe, you still sure you want to bring these up?" She watched Brittany blink, her blue eyes darting towards her, only now noticing her presence.

"I don't know," Brittany answered, stretching across the couch, lying her head on the arm of the couch and her legs over Santana's. "Have you ever tried pushing them?" she asked. Santana didn't answer because she knew that her girlfriend was asking a rhetorical question, even if Brittany often forgot the meaning of rhetorical. "They're really heavy."

"Maybe, we shouldn't bring them up," Santana said, trying not to sound too into the idea.

"We could always try to some of the guys to bring them up for us," Brittany shrugged.

Hm, well's that's an idea that Santana could get behind.

Rachel's house…

Rachel brushed a loose strand of hair out of Quinn's face. The blonde had fallen asleep a small while ago. She was quite exhausted by spending the day with Tony, which resulted in Rachel requesting (demanding) that they eat dinner in her room. The puppy in question was curled up at the foot of the bed. The brunette scooted closer to Quinn. She tossed the more securely around her friend and laid down.

She gasped when she noticed her ceiling. It took her a second to process what happened, but it all clicked into place when she remembered Quinn's surprise. Her ceiling was littered with glow in the dark stars. And although they were green instead of her preferred color of gold (green did go well with Quinn's eyes), the simple action was quite sweet. But this was Quinn and thus it wasn't as simple as that. Quinn had clearly put some thought in where she placed the stars.

Together they formed a heart, with their initials in the middle.


End file.
